The Perfect Pair
by Roxius
Summary: With the other members of their respective trios dating, two girls are left feeling alone and abandoned. They quickly discover a bond of camaraderie between each other, and that it itself might lead into a romance that neither of them, or anyone in Muse, could have expected. Uminayo (Umi X Hanayo), with Honotori, Makirin, Erizomi, Nicoena. Now complete! Artwork provided by ram-jam.
1. Chapter 1

"...And that concludes today's meeting for the idol club. Thank you all for coming."

Honoka started clapping for the flustered azure-haired girl, who was lowering her clipboard back onto the table. "Yay, good job, Umi~"

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be the Center? Why aren't you the one making the announcements and leading the group discussion?" Nico remarked from her seat, shooting a baleful glance in the second-year's direction. "What kind of impression are you trying to give to all of us?"

"Eh? I...uh...I'm not so very good with these things...Umi is good at taking care of important things like schedules and appointments," Honoka managed a sheepish grin and a laugh, "But, Miss Nico, being a third-year and the founder of the idol club, wouldn't it be more appropriate if you headed the meetings instead?"

Nico's cheeks instantly lit up, and they burned brighter than Maki's own hair as she fidgeted in her seat. "Well, I...I don't want to take away the experience...from my u-underclassmen, that's all...!"

"Eh? Never thought Nico would turn down the chance to show off,"

"F-Forget about it, okay?" Nico wasn't very good at crafting plans or strategies for their idol practice that didn't involve performing 'nico nico nii' over and over again. That didn't go over so well the last time she'd tried it.

Umi sighed. Another meeting done. She was not a public speaker, never would be one even in a million years, but when it was among close friends like her fellow Muses, the potential fear and humiliation was always an afterthought. Writing down the date and sorting the papers back into their proper order, she slipped them into the file that Eri would later store for safe-keeping. It was important for a club to keep all of its information intact and on-hand.

From what they had discussed, they had all agreed that there was going to be no training on the roof that afternoon. Everyone had different plans, all of them conflicting with the intended schedule, and with their recent performance less than a week ago, there was mutual consensus among the group that a break was well-deserved, at least for a single day. Normally the one to try and keep the others in line, especially Honoka, this time Umi wasn't going to argue against it. She felt like a rest would be wholly appreciated on her part.

"Come now, there's no reason to fight, you two," Kotori remarked with a sheepish grin. Sitting beside the orange-haired girl, she happened to reach out and placed a hand on Honoka's shoulder. She ran her hand up and down, like a massage.

This tiny act of physical connection between them surely did not go unnoticed by anyone in Muse, but to Umi it felt like she was the only one. Her brow furrowed, but she tried to keep it a slight change, so that it wouldn't seem too obvious. She shuffled the papers some more, a little rougher than before, to try and give herself something to do, to keep her mind off of it. Honoka and Kotori were dating. They'd already announced it, and everyone, Umi included, had cheered them on and congratulated them for their success in love. Umi cast her eyes away from her two childhood friends.

She wanted to be nothing but overjoyed for them, but now she was the one left alone, and they rarely had time to spend with her anymore. The bluenette despised feeling this way, especially toward Honoka and Kotori of all people, but her heart and her brain just couldn't reach a proper agreement. On one hand, she wanted to see them as a couple, they really did belong together, and she didn't wish to stand in their way. Yet, on the other hand, she was silently fuming, out of jealousy and out of loneliness, because they were no longer a trio. Now they were just a duo with a third wheel barely hanging on, like a limp appendage you didn't need. Umi never tried to discuss it with them, out of fear of upsetting her friends, out of determination to conquer these hateful thoughts and emotions on her own.

"Fine, fine...sorry..." Nico sighed, crossing her arms and leaning back into her chair. She eyed a certain red-head from the corner of her eye. Of course, she was still looking at Maki, even now, despite knowing she had long since lost her chance.

Maki, Rin and Hanayo all sat side by side. Maki was scrolling through the songs on her ipod while Rin quietly hummed a song to herself, Hanayo staring off to the distance like she was trying desperately hard to ignore her two best friends beside her. Maki and Rin both had one arm half-submerged beneath the table; they had been holding hands throughout the entire meeting. Umi sighed. She'd heard about fans or outside lovers causing rifts in the friendships between idols, but who knew that romance between idols in the same group would have the same effect?

Eri clapped her hands.

"Okay, everyone, if we're done here and have nothing left to discuss, I think we should all be on our way. Nozomi and I have some parfaits to attend to."

"Right, right. Let's go, Kotori! There's this new cafe I wanted to try in Akihabara! I heard it has green tea cheesecake on sale!"

"O-Okay, Honoka...!" As the two of them rose up from their seats, they took each other's hand. Umi pretended not to notice.

"Yeah! Let's go, Maki!" Rin literally bounced onto her feet.

"W-What? Go to that cafe they're talking about?" Maki asked.

"No, silly, we had our own plans to do, didn't we? Even I could remember that, nyah!"

Maki's cheeks flushed. "I...! Of course I remember...I'm not dumb...!"

Rin gave Maki's hand a squeeze. "I remember that too!"

"You two have fun," Hanayo waved, wearing a smile so fragile it could have toppled over and shattered under the calmest wind, "I have some work I need to do after school today."

"Oh, okay! See you later, Kayochin! Text nya later!"

"Heh heh, sure."

"Bye, Hanayo - woah, R-Rin, don't pull so h-hard...!"

"Oh, I can almost taste that green tea cheesecake; I want to smother it in whipped cream!"

"Honoka, do you have enough money for it, though?"

"I probably do!"

"You PROBABLY do?"

"I can haggle!"

"Oh, Honoka...ah! See you later, Umi!"

"Bye, Umi!"

Umi gave them a placid wave and a half-assed smile, but she said nothing.

Nozomi decided to ask what Hanayo was planning, for the sake of conversation. She must have noticed the first-year looked sad, although she seemed to fail noticing Umi felt the same way. "What're you going to be doing, Hanacchi?"

"Eh?" Hanayo reacted with some surprise, like she honestly didn't expect she'd been asked about her plans, and already Honoka, Kotori, Rin and Maki were nearly out the door, "Um...even though I'm an idol now, I still have my duties to help with taking care of the school alpacas. I'm going to be working on that for a while."

"Oh, my, but isn't it hard work for a girl your age and size? You're only a freshman, after all."

"No, it's...well, it IS hard, but I really enjoy it, even if I'm the only one."

"Wow, it's no wonder then that those alpaca seem to love you so much!"

While listening to Hanayo and Nozomi's discussion, Umi thought of what her own plans for after-school were. She did not have archery practice again until later that week, when she would begin training for an upcoming tournament. That was going to put a damper on her idol training, as well. Honoka and Kotori were definitely not going to be available, Eri and Nozomi were going out for 'parfaits' (everyone knew what they were really up to), Nico didn't seem interested in hanging out, Rin and Maki were a couple too, which just left herself, or maybe she could try to get to know one of her fellow Muses better. After all, they were all friends, and considered each other precious, but some members spoke less with certain others.

Umi intended to rectify that, if at least so she wouldn't be stuck feeling so alone anymore.

"Hanayo."

The young woman turned to address Umi, "Huh?"

"Er...uh...could I, I mean, if it's not too much trouble, could I join you?" Umi asked as the heat steadily rose in her cheeks. She was turning back, into her painfully awkward and socially-inexperienced state, the way she was at her most vulnerable moments.

Hanayo was blushing now too. "What?"

"She means she wants to help you take care of the alpaca," Nozomi explained with a wink and a giggle.

* * *

Umi and Hanayo walked out to the stables, carrying buckets of food, water, and a pitchfork to brush around the bales of hay. The bluenette grunted as she carried the food bucket in one hand and the water bucket in the other; they were both heavy on her slim frame, probably weighing ten pounds or more each. Hanayo was constantly casting worried glances over at the second-year. She had insisted to take one of the buckets herself, but then Umi insisted right back, saying she could handle them both. Granted, Umi was a little stronger than Hanayo because of her archery training, but what she was doing was no small feat on its own. Umi seemed so desperately relieved when the stables finally came into view, she didn't even try to hide it.

Hanayo shifted the pitchfork in her arms to keep it steady. "We're going to need to remove the old hay so we can move in the new hay."

Umi's head swiveled in the other girl's direction. "What was that now?"

"Don't worry," Hanayo grinned, "We already have the hay here, so you don't have to go and get it."

"Oh, that's good..." Umi heaved a great sigh of relief.

"Have you ever had any pets at home, Umi?"

"No, I haven't."

Hanayo's grin became even wider. "Then you're going to love it when it comes time to brush their fur!"

The two girls spent the next hour working diligently, barely a word exchanged between them, so engrossed were they with cleaning the stables and feeding the alpaca. Umi, however, took a moment now and then to chance a glance at the younger girl. She and Hanayo had never spent any time alone together like this before, not once, as far back as them first becoming friends with her. Musing on it even further in the past, Hanayo had been an early supporter of theirs, one of the first to join Muse to make it larger than a trio, even aiding in the recruitment of both Rin and Maki. She had been essential to the formation of Muse as a whole; she was a shy, quiet girl who managed to overcome her own doubts and trepidations to do what she loved. Umi had never met another girl who reminded her so much of herself. Hanayo was a larger idol fan than she was by far, but Umi knew where she was coming from.

Hanayo dabbed her wet face with a small cloth she'd been carrying. She had been throwing around bales of hay for thirty minutes now. "Ah...it's really warm out today, isn't it, Umi?" it was a simple question, but so sudden and unexpected, it managed to catch the archer a little off-guard.

Umi nodded. She was valiantly scrubbing down some sort of black smear on the floor she was certain had once been feces. "Yes, summer has always been rough on us here, and this year is no different."

The two girls resumed working. For a time, neither said anything again. Neither was even sure what they should say. They had never shared a conversation before now. They hardly knew a thing about each other aside from their mutual interest in being school idols. Umi could have possibly discovered some sort of connection with Rin, and she and Maki worked on the lyrics and music for their songs together many times before. Umi sighed. In the end, what she wanted most of all was to get to know her better, and doing nothing but fret wouldn't help. She opened her mouth to speak.

"Umi," Hanayo suddenly spoke the bluenette's name, and Umi instantly clamped her mouth back shut.

"Could I ask you something a little personal, if that is okay with you? Since we're both in the same idol club together?"

"Huh? Uh, sure, alright, if you want to," Umi wondered what it was Hanayo wanted to say.

Hanayo kept her back turned to the bluenette as she spoke, only taking a few moments' pause, "What do you think about Honoka and Kotori? I mean, they're your best friends, and they're dating, but...you never look happy about it?"

Umi sighed. Admittedly, she had wanted a chance to talk about this to someone for a very long time. "No, I'm happy for them, but I'm jealous too. I never thought I'd feel left out by my two childhood friends, but I do. I'm probably not fit to be an idol, let alone their friend, to be feeling this way, huh?"

"I felt similarly when I first found out Rin and Maki became a couple, so no...I know how you feel."

Umi turned to find herself caught in that powerful stare of Hanayo's shimmering violet eyes. Like moons, it almost felt as if they were pulling Umi in with a gravitational pull. The two young women were yet again at a loss for words with each other, an impasse. They'd both just openly admitted something that they never would have told anyone else. Especially not the friends in particular they felt this way about. It had come out, the dams holding their emotions built on too weak a foundation to hold back any longer. It wasn't everything they could have done, there would been much more frustration and tears if it had been, but getting off their chests for now was good enough. They had something new they could agree they shared experience in.

Umi and Hanayo exchanged grins; they were weak ones, full of fear and uncertainty. Still, there was a hint of hope in there too. A tiny glimmer, but it was there.

They weren't going to discuss the issue any further, and they quietly returned to their work in the stables. The alpaca were lucky that animals such as them did not need to ever concern themselves with human affairs.

* * *

"Aaaah! So soft...!" Umi cooed. Her face was almost completely buried into the white alpaca's neck-fur.

"Hee hee, I told you that you'd like it," Hanayo chuckled. The brown alpaca blew air out from its nostrils as it watched its mate garner so much attention.

"It doesn't smell very good, but I love how soft it is!"

"You probably shouldn't rub your face in it too much...!"

Umi pulled back. Her face and hair were literally covered in white fuzz and stray hair, almost resembling a faint beard around her mouth. She sneezed and the hair flew off all at once. Hanayo started giggling at the sight.

Umi wiped her face with a towel. "How long have we been here?"

"It's almost 6." Hanayo looked at her cellphone.

"What? 6? That long already?"

"It's okay, though, we already finished everything we needed to do today." Hanayo pet the brown alpaca, stroking the length of its face, "These two are full and happy now, so our work is done."

Umi looked at the white alpaca, and she thought about petting it, but she was afraid she'd agitated it enough with her 'snuggling' before. "When do you need to care for them again?"

"Not until next week; a second-year named Kobata is going to come out next. I take less frequent shifts than the others, because of Muse."

"Oh."

Umi and Hanayo bid the alpaca farewell as they walked back to the shack to return the pitchfork and buckets. They walked close, side by side, but still keeping enough space between each other that their shoulders would not touch.

"That was fun," Umi casually remarked.

"It was? You really thought so?" Hanayo seemed more shocked by this claim that Umi would have expected.

"Yes, I had a good time," Umi explained, "It was...something new, right?"

"No one else helps me out when it comes to my turn to care for the alpacas. Not even Rin anymore." Hanayo noted.

"Well, could I come here again? With you?"

"Eh? You would want to do that...?"

"Sure!" Umi started to reach out. She hesitated at first, unsure if it was proper or not, but eventually she decided the gesture would be harmless, and placed her hand upon Hanayo's shoulder. She gave it a friendly squeeze.

Hanayo trembled; Umi's touch was gentle and light, not like Rin, who was always so energetic and hyper she sometimes didn't realize how much pressure she was applying. It was soothing, this touch. It was not only a woman who wished to befriend her, but who wished to understand her, and share things with her. They'd both exchanged one very personal secret with each other. If that wasn't some sort of certification for a bond to form, then Hanayo didn't know what was.

"Umi, would there be any chance I can see you in archery sometime? I'd heard about it from Honoka and Kotori, but I'd want to see you do it in person!"

The second-year hadn't doubted she'd be able to get along with Hanayo, not really, but she was so happy that this had turned out better than expected.

* * *

A/N: Please let me know if I should continue this story or not, because while it is friendship for now, it will eventually become yuri, and would feature more about the other yuri pairings already set up as well. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

And so things continued like this for several weeks. The unlikely relationship between the two girls steadily grew over time, finding themselves more and more drawn to each other. The magnetism was already well under-effect, the string of fate tugging and dragging their hearts and minds helplessly along. As their friends continued to go off on their dates and increase the emotional distance, even though it was all done without malicious intent, Sonoda Umi and Koizumi Hanayo started to shut the already-thin gap that stood between them personally. They found a comfort and a security in each other that they both wanted.

"H...Hanayo!"

"Ah! Umi!"

The bluenette panted, bending over on her knees as she stopped short in front of the violet-eyed girl, who was clearly struggling to carry a variety of farm tools and buckets in her tiny arms. Hanayo started to blush when she realized that Umi hadn't even changed out of her archery club uniform yet; the second-year had run all the way from one end of the school to the other, just for her sake and for a promise she wasn't being obligated to keep.

"I'm so sorry...I was almost late...to helping you with your shift this week..." Umi breathed.

"I-It's okay," Hanayo tried to say, but Umi was still going on. She was quite an apologetic person.

"I had my archery class earlier today, and I thought...I could make it over here in time...but the coach wanted to speak to me about the upcoming tournament...and I lost track of time..."

Hanayo dropped the buckets of food and water in front of Umi. She wasn't trying to seem dismissive or dissatisfied with the girl, in fact she was extremely touched that Umi cared so much, but she needed to get her to stop explaining herself and focus on taking care of the alpaca.

"...Then you can take these two." she ordered, although it hardly gave the impression of her being 'disappointed' in Umi for being late, given her voice. More like a kid sister trying to boss around her older sibling.

"Ah...right...okay..." panted the older girl.

Umi and Hanayo took to work with the alpaca; Hanayo brushed and fed them, while Umi took on the ever-valiant duties of cleaning the stables and replacing the hay, along with caring for anything else that needed to be scrubbed down or wiped up. She seemed rather adamant in doing these numerous chores for the first-year, as if to further make up for the awful, awful transgression of being only a few minutes late. Hanayo ran the brush through the fur of the white alpaca, casting a glance at the other girl every now and then. Umi was deep into her work; she was sending clumps of old hay flying over the fence with a single heave each time she raised the pitchfork. It was almost like working alongside a man, the way Umi treated her sometimes. It might have had something to do with her upbringing. Hanayo remembered hearing she was raised in a family with an old set of values, and she was probably taught to be formal and serious, a straight-edged sort of person. Just, now and then, her social awkwardness and relatively innocent mind got in the way of things too.

Nonetheless, the first-year could not have said she didn't appreciate the help. Hanayo continued to stare. She observed the way the beads of sweat were trickling down Umi's porcelain face, but when she realized she was looking for much longer than necessary, Hanayo was quick to return to her own work, blushing furiously all the way. What had she been doing, gazing at the bluenette for that long?

Umi stopped in her work for a moment to wipe the sheen from her brow.

"Ah...um, Hanayo?"

"Hmm?" Hanayo looked up.

"I might need to remove my chest protector; it's starting to get in the way," Umi shifted the breast-plate a little, grinning sheepishly. "I hope you don't mind?"

Hanayo shook her head. "It's fine, you can leave it over there,"

"Thank you."

Umi undid the breast-plate and placed it aside. Hanayo wasn't going to make any remarks, react or even acknowledge that the outline of Umi's breasts were now visible to her eyes (oh no, certainly not, not at all) but she did recall the fact that Umi had earlier mentioned a tournament for her other club.

"Oh, you said you had a tournament for your archery club, didn't you? What is it?"

Umi nodded. "It's going to be the club's first tournament of the year! It's not something I've been able to spend as much time preparing for, because of Muse, but I'm looking forward to participating next week! I...I hope I can avoid choking up. It's a little different from being on a stage, because at least there I have the reassurance of you and the others."

Hanayo smiled. "I'm sure you can do it, Umi!" She hadn't ever witnessed Umi's archery prowess in person, but there was not a single doubt that the bluenette was skilled at it.

Umi beamed right back. "Thanks! Honoka and Kotori keep telling me to have confidence, but I'll accept all the support I can get!"

The two of them stood there and smiled at each other for a while, but a clever little idea was brewing in the back of Hanayo's mind. She wanted to help support Umi, that was true, but just saying she believed in her wouldn't be enough. She knew quite well that she in spite of Muse's policy where every member was as important as the other, Hanayo knew that was, deep down, a lie, because some members like Umi and Maki were more valuable, due to their talents in lyrics and song-writing. Hanayo wanted to be helpful to her new friend. If she could help Umi, who was so quick to be here at the alpaca stalls for her sake, then she could do at least so much more.

"What day is it exactly?" she inquired.

* * *

Half a week later, at the end of the day, Hanayo was walking to the school lockers when Rin and Maki approached her in the hall.

"Kayo-chin!" Rin waved her over. Maki walked a few paces behind, trying to come off looking aloof as always, twisting a strand of hair around her finger.

Hanayo turned to them, beaming. "Rin! Maki!"

"Hey, Kayo-chin! How are nya?" Rin immediately embraced the other first-year as she flew into her; she gave her a tight squeeze. Hanayo giggled.

"I'm doing f-fine, Rin...!" Hanayo tried not to laugh any further, even with Rin's hair tickling her cheek, "Heh heh...Rin, you've rarely been this affectionate to me...oof, in a long time!"

Rin didn't release her friend yet. She buried her face deeper into the curve of Hanayo's shoulder. "Kayo-chin..."

Maki coughed rather loudly into her fist. "Rin, you should just tell her already-"

The short-haired girl suddenly erupted into an emotional frenzy, wailing as the tears flowed freely from her big, beautiful eyes. "Kayo-chin, I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry for hurting your feelings!" Rin gave Hanayo a mighty shake as she begged to be forgiven for her transgressions against her childhood friend.

"What...?!" Even Hanayo hadn't expected this; she nearly reeled back from the shock. It had all happened so fast, from one instant to the next, she needed a few seconds to collect herself.

"I...I never meant it..." Rin continued to choke out, "I never meant to ignore you like I did! I really didn't! I'm just so stupid and forgetful sometimes, Kayochin! You know how I am, I'm a big dummy who doesn't pay attention when I really should! I'm hyperactive and I'm dense! I've always been like that!"

Hanayo tried to interject, "Rin, wait-"

"I didn't want to forget about you or hurt your feelings or leave you thinking like I didn't care! I'd never meant any of it! I...I was just so caught up in loving Maki, and then I...nyah! I'm such a terrible friend!"

Maki shook her head. "I'd pointed out to Rin last night that we'd been neglecting you for too long, Hanayo. We're both truly sorry. It's my fault all of this happened in the first place; I approached Rin first."

"Please don't be mad anymore, Kayochin!" begged Rin. She was being so over-dramatic, she even fell to her knees as she clung to the other girl's skirt.

Hanayo graciously placed her hand upon Rin's head. Like a saint showing mercy to a sinner.

"It's okay, Rin. I forgive you and Maki both. I'm not mad at either of you."

"You do? You're...you're not?" Rin sniffled.

In truth, Hanayo had long since managed to get over her insecurities and her irrational anger toward her two friends' relationship, thanks in part to having Umi to confide in. She'd also hated herself for being angry at Rin, whom she still loved as the greatest friend anyone could have asked for, and at Maki, who had simply followed her heart to be with the one she loved, and she was someone Hanayo had grown to love too, just like the rest of Muse. Rin and Maki played off each other well, Rin giving Maki a much-needed dose of childish energy to her life (as well as a way to work on conquering her tsundere tendencies), whereas the red-haired pianist could easily keep Rin in line, both socially and with her studies. It was wrong of Hanayo to be angry, considering she had partially put herself into this position by doing nothing to fix it. Now cleared of that green-eyed darkness that had nestled in the cockles of her heart, Hanayo was finally free of her anger. There was not going to be any hard feelings between her or the other girls. She'd been unsure when to approach Rin after all this time, but it seemed she no longer had to worry. Stroking Rin's head, Hanayo couldn't keep away the beaming smile that formed on her lips.

"Of course, Rin. You're my very best friend, and I don't want to lose that just yet."

Rin sniffled. She was ready for another outburst.

Hanayo assured her friend, "I love you, Rin."

"K...K...Kayochinnn! I love you too...!" Rin embraced her best friend, a true goddess of forgiveness, for a third time now. It was her most powerful hug yet, strong enough to make Hanayo's bones creak.

Maki rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "You're seriously such a handful." She actually thought it was kind of adorable. Maki smirked.

"So, Hanayo, it's probably only proper now, would you like to go out with us? We were actually about to walk back to the club room to meet with the others-"

"Ah!" Hanayo suddenly recalled the time, and what she had been heading off to do initially, "I'm sorry! I can't!"

"What?"

Rin pulled away, a large droplet of snot dribbling from her left nostril. "You...you still don't want to hang out, Kayochin?"

Hanayo briskly waved her hand in front of her face as she began walking away from the couple. "It's not that! Really! Rin, Maki, I'd love to go out with you two right now, but...but I have some place that I need to be! It's super important! I'm sorry, Rin, I promise we can do something tomorrow! Just right now, I...I can't do it right now! Bye!"

"...Kayochin..." Rin wasn't going to hide her disappointment that their emotional reconnecting as best friends had ended in such an anti-climatic way.

Maki pat her sympathetically. "Hey, it must be pretty important, like a dentist's appointment or something."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right, nyah...but wait, Maki, what were you talking about, with us meeting up with the others? I remember a text about it, but Eri didn't tell me what we were going to do."

"I think she was afraid you might spoil the surprise to a certain lyricist in our group!"

"A surprise for Umi, nyah?" Rin tilt her head.

"Yeah, her competition for her other club is going on today! We want to surprise her by showing up to give our support!"

"Oh! But..." Rin glanced back down the hall, Hanayo already gone, "Kayochin is going to miss it...and she and Umi were hanging out together, I figured she would have told her..."

"It's unfortunate, but I'm sure Umi will understand if we explain it to her," Maki leaned in and gave Rin a little peck on the face, kissing away some of the tears that still stained the tomboy's cheek, "Now let's go, Rin. We need to get to the club-room!"

Rin was back to her old self in a half-second's notice. "Okay, Maki, nyah!"

She linked arms with the redhead, feeling like she'd become as light as the air around her, the two of them walking side by side.

* * *

Inside the stadium, Hanayo plopped her little rear into her seat on the third row. She took a few seconds to breathe in and out; from the bus-stop onward, she had been running nonstop. She was afraid she would miss the pivotal moment, but it seemed that she may have actually overestimated her travel time, because judging from the look of the scene, she was early. The first round of competitors were nearly done preparing their bows. At least, she assumed that's who they were; there were so many people down there on the field, more than she'd ever imagined. A long line of women in uniform were lined up with their bows and arrows in hand, but behind them was a crowd of girls waiting for their chance. One of them was Umi; the first-year's eyes hurriedly scanned each head to try and spot the bluenette.

Now that she thought about it, she knew next to nothing about the rules of kyudo, the Japanese art of archery, that Umi used as a secondary hobby aside from her idol life.

Hanayo wiped some sweat away with a napkin. 'I feel bad, turning down Rin and Maki after they'd just apologized, but...I'd promised Umi first...'

Hanayo blushed. She was hanging out with Umi a lot lately these days, wasn't she?

Finally her vision centered itself on that silky mane of deep-blue hair, that pretty young face and those sparkling golden eyes. Hanayo wanted to call out to her at first to get her attention, but given the sort of no-nonsense competition she'd placed herself in the middle of, it would have been terribly rude to the other competitors. Instead without a word to speak, she stood up and started to wave.

Maybe it was a coincidence, or she was inspired by the slim hope she would see her friends spectating, but Umi looked up. When she saw Hanayo waving to her, so happy and small and cute, Umi immediately broke out into a smile that stretched from ear to ear. Umi returned the wave, her heart beating a little faster than before in the midst of a sudden, personal heat-wave.

It wasn't much longer before the rest of Muse appeared, wearing brightly colored bandannas, customized t-shirts and emblazoned coats to show their support for their dear friend. Umi nearly fainted from a heat stroke, but this time it was one brought on by a sense of intense humiliation rather than burgeoning romantic feelings. Umi was mortified, but she tried to hide it, moving her focus back onto the competition in front of her instead of the bleachers any longer. Honoka and Kotori were especially loud in their cheering. A security officer had to ask them to quiet down.

Rin and Maki, however, were quite stunned to discover their fellow freshman already present, in spite of her telling them she had something 'very important' to attend to. They weren't too pleased with having been lied to. They made it quite clear on their faces.

Hanayo let out a nervous laugh like a choked squawk. "Ah...haha...hi, Rin, Maki...h-how are you two d-doing...?"

It was a very awkward situation to explain.


	3. Chapter 3

The kyudo competition played itself out relatively quietly, reaching its conclusion after several long, relatively drawn-out hours. To say that some of the more impatient and charged members of Muse were able to sit through the entire thing without once complaining would be like expecting the most impossible miracle imaginable, but they made sure to keep it to hushed tones so as not to interrupt the bluenette's focus. Umi had finished and the girls rushed to the stadium entrance to intercept her, and after a number of hasty cheers, hugs and congratulations were offered, Honoka and Kotori came to bow their heads before Umi.

"We're really, really sorry for ignoring you like we did, Umi!" They'd learned their lesson, after receiving a helpful hint from their juniors.

The bluenette wasn't going to let her friends off the hook as easily as Hanayo did, even though the first-year had helped her get over much of her insecurities about the issue. Honoka was one of the sweetest girls in the entire world, she had offered Umi her hand in friendship after all, but she sometimes let her excessive imagination and her love for life get ahead of her, and she might forget to consider how others feel. Honoka was a little immature for her age, and Kotori had always been Honoka's greatest supporter, adoring the girl so much so that she tended to treat her lightly. Kotori was something of an enabler in this sense.

Thus, it was up to Umi to ensure a lesson was truly learned here between her two friends. Carefully shifting her second-place trophy underneath her armpit, Umi gave the two a cold stare.

"Do you two UNDERSTAND what you did wrong?" Umi demanded.

"Umi...it wasn't like we ever meant to hurt you-"

Umi held up a finger to silence Kotori before she could continue. "Honoka first!"

Honoka hung her head so low she could have toppled over and hit the floor. She felt especially bad, since she was the one who orchestrated almost all of her and Kotori's dates. "I'm sorry, Umi! I didn't mean to go off on fun dates all the time with Kotori and forget about you, Umi! I didn't realize it would hurt your feelings like it did, Umi! Please don't be mad at me, Umi! I was being a real idiot like usual, Umi!"

Umi's golden orbs bore down on the other girl's head. She nodded with barely a tilt of the head, but still she seemed satisfied enough with Honoka's apology. She turned to Kotori, who let out a squeak of terror when their eyes met.

"Kotori?" Umi was honestly enjoying this, very much so.

The silver-haired girl stuttered for a moment. "...We'll make sure to spend more time with you again, Umi..."

Umi nodded. "Good."

"H-Hey, why didn't she have to say as much as me...?" Honoka couldn't help but point out this injustice. She was ignored.

"And now I need to say this," Umi started to say. She quickly handed her trophy over to Nico, the closest person she could reach, and embraced both of the girls in front of her, an arm over each of their shoulder. "I want to say, because I never got the chance to before, that I'm really happy for you two!"

"What?" exclaimed Honoka and Kotori in conjunction.

Umi continued, "You two are my best friends, and we've been together since childhood, so I've watched you for a while. I noticed it all before you two probably noticed it yourselves. Especially when it came to you, Kotori; you were not subtle in the slightest. Only someone as dim as Honoka would never have noticed, even after saying you loved each other outright."

"Eheh..." Kotori put on a sheepish grin.

"Umi, what are you getting at?" Honoka inquired.

Umi sighed, closing her eyes. "What I'm saying is...I'm sorry too, for having let my jealousy get to me, and I forgive you both, but I'm also happy that you two are a couple more than anything. You deserve each other, after all. So, please, don't let me break you up."

"Oh, Umi...!"

The other members of Muse were joyful observers of this scene, all of them wearing lighthearted grins and sharing a few sniffles among them.

"My, my, Umi is such a character; angry one moment, sweet the next." Nozomi remarked.

"I'm glad to see that they've made up. It hurt morale a little, to see the original trio broken up like that." Eri added sagely.

"I knew it would happen," said the pig-tailed girl, "The cards told me so...!"

"Oh, I'm sure they did,"

"Those who doubt don't receive very good tarot readings, Erichi,"

"Heh heh, I do believe in it, I do! Honest!"

At the same time, Maki and Rin were still trying to figure out what to do with Hanayo, who felt like she'd become a thousand times smaller in their presence than she usually ever had before. However, the other two first-years seemed more befuddled by Hanayo's lies than angry with her about them, if anything.

"Kayochin, why didn't you TELL us you were going to come and cheer on Umi too?" Rin asked.

Hanayo nervously shuffled; she hated being put on the spot like this. "I...I'd wanted to surprise Umi, since she told me about the competition while we were hanging out together! I didn't know you would all show up here!"

"Kayo-chin, you could have told us, though...!" the other girl insisted.

Maki stepped in with her two cents. "It doesn't really matter, does it? I mean, we're all here now and we were able to cheer on Umi and watch her perform, so that's what matters." she said.

"Ah, that's right!" Rin realized. She gave Maki a kiss for being such a good mediator.

"Maki..." Hanayo stared, touched down to the soul, at the red-haired girl.

"Still, next time, Hanayo, make sure you tell us; we can all go together." Maki said as a slight smile was crossing her lips. The first-years laughed and embraced one another, just as the second-years had done. Eri and Nozomi held hands, out and proud and happy their fellow students were getting along so well. All the while, Nico tried not to let the curse of envy reveal itself on her face, gripping Umi's trophy in her clammy hands.

"Hanayo,"

Umi approached Hanayo, and like it was some innate change, a chemical reaction inside their own bodies, they both felt an inexplicable rise of temperature, and they weren't sure if it was the air around them or just inside themselves. Burning-hot red color had splashed itself like paint across Umi's cheeks, and it did so on Hanayo as well. Umi's gratitude was clear, it could be seen in her eyes alone, but she was not entirely sure how to express or communicate said gratitude appropriately, as she had begun to feel many strange thoughts about Hanayo lately. Complicated, frightening, but somehow joyous thoughts all at the same time. Umi wanted to chalk it up to their newly-developed friendship, the way you feel elated when you first make a new friend, but she wasn't entirely sure if that was the case just yet. Umi had never felt this way around Honoka and Kotori, whom she'd known for years. They'd been friends for several weeks, and Umi already wanted to thank Hanayo so bluenette hoped she didn't appear too sweaty, while Hanayo hoped she didn't seem too withdrawn. Umi trembled a little as she let the corners of her mouth stretch and lift themselves into a wiry, nervous smile.

The rest of Muse leaned in, watching their interactions with careful fascination.

"Thank you for coming." Umi said to her.

Hanayo squeaked, "Oh! Oh...it was n-nothing, Umi! How could I not come, after you told me so much about it?"

Umi laughed a little too boisterously than she might have meant. "O-Of course...! I should have known that! I'm sorry!"

"You don't have to apologize," insisted the younger girl.

They stared. Umi and Hanayo didn't know what they were supposed to do next. Their friends moved in even closer, but the two girls in question simply ignored them. Their shared conundrum, being ignored by their best friends, had been solved more easily than expected. Rin, Maki, Honoka, Kotori...they were all kind and loving people, they'd never meant to hurt Umi or Hanayo purposely; it had been only a matter of time before they would have realized their follies. Hanayo had her friends back, Umi had hers. Would there be any reason for them to hang out further?

"Ah."

"W-What is it?"

"I just remembered, tomorrow is your shift with the alpaca, isn't it?"

"Huh? Oh! You're right! It is!" Hanayo was actually touched that Umi remembered that; then again, the girl was always on top when it came to schedules.

"So can I come tomorrow? I mean...only if you really want me to go...!" Umi waved her hands frantically.

Hanayo could have lit up an entire room, the way she beamed, and it made Umi feel all the more relieved with her next words. "Of course!" she happily replied.

They turned to see the other girls giving them rather peculiar looks. Painfully smug grins were as plain as day on Rin's and Honoka's faces. Umi and Hanayo started to blush even brighter, if that was even humanely possible. Those damn, oh-so-smackable grins stretched so far that they could have taken off and flown into space, and no one would have batted an eye. Umi stepped away from Hanayo, thinking it would make them stop. It didn't.

"...Why are you looking at us like that?" she demanded to know.

"Umi, you two..." Kotori started.

"Are actually kind of cute together." Nozomi finished.

Umi nearly fainted out of sheer embarrassment; you could catch the moment that her consciousness almost leaves her. Hanayo simply stood there, gawking. She soon covered her burning face behind her hands.

* * *

Later that day, Yazawa Nico stood alone at the bus-stop. She needed to take it to get back home, she didn't live close enough to spend the evening walking. Unfortunately, it meant her ride would arrive later, and the rest of Muse had already gone their separate ways.

"Hmph."

Nico punted a tiny stone into the storm drain. She sighed. Her mind, her heart, just couldn't let go of what had happened today. She was happy for Umi, she wanted that to go down on the record, but she hated having to feel so...so frustrated about everything else. Nico sighed again, even louder this time.

Honoka and Kotori.

Eri and Nozomi.

Rin and Maki.

Umi and Hanayo, maybe.

Each and every one of her friends and fellow idols, paired up with one another. It was ridiculous. Nico had nothing against homosexuality, and in fact she was pretty confident she had been gay for longer than any of them before joining Muse, but she couldn't help but feel a little peeved. She was the only one who had been left behind, who was still single. She knew love wasn't the most important thing in the world, she could still live fine even without a girlfriend. She also knew her dream to become an official idol required her to remain single for her fans' sake. Yet still, what was making her get this astonishingly pissed off about her situation? It was driving her mad, trying to figure it out.

"I'm not lonely!" she snarled aloud. She wanted to reaffirm that...but that only proved she was just lying to herself, since she was the only one who actually cared. "...Dammit..."

Suddenly, a girl stepped up next to her.

"Oh? Wait, aren't you - yes, I remember you! You...you're Muse's little imp, aren't you? The one who had sent us all of those flowers before?"

Nico blanched, too stunned to even speak. 'A...A...A-Rise?!'

"You know, that was actually rather sweet of you. Personally, I love white lilies."


	4. Chapter 4

Tomorrow arrived swiftly, and the two girls once again found themselves staring each other down with sunny smiles as they arrived at the alpaca stables at exactly the same time. But for today, there was the heavy presence of an awkward air, it seemed to linger over them like a thick fog; neither girl could forget the comments their friends had made at the stadium, or what happened afterward that evening either. All they could really try to do was laugh it off for each other's sake, yet they couldn't stop thinking of that one particular line, and doubted they'd be able to anytime soon. The line that started this whole confusing, jumbled mess of emotions that they were both experiencing in equal amounts. Well, they were already unsure about how they felt for each other, but now they were REALLY unsure about how they felt for each other.

_"You two...are actually kind of cute together."_

Things should have finally calmed down now that they'd rekindled their relationships with their friends; instead, life was turning all the more on its head. There might have even been romance blooming in the air. After yesterday and almost all throughout the school hours, their friends had been talking to them, practically pushing them, to try and go on a date. They were all convinced it was nothing short of a perfect idea. Umi and Hanayo made no comments about it in response to their friends' insistence, and they simply tried to continue and act like everything was normal around each other. Little did they know that the time for 'normalcy' had long since passed them by.

"H-Hello, Umi," Hanayo bowed her head. "Good afternoon...!"

Umi bowed back. "Hello, Hanayo. G-Good afternoon to you too."

They were rather nervous, the two of them, and it clearly showed in their every action. Umi and Hanayo exchanged a brief pair of polite smiles before going straight to their work, no small talk exchanged beforehand at all. Umi took to the bales of hay as usual, summoning up the strength of muscles in her arms, back and legs as she heaved them around with the pitchfork. Hanayo brushed away all of the stray hair and bits of uneaten food that were strewn around the floor of the stables. The girls worked diligently, putting all of their focus into their work before them, yet now and then, like an obnoxious itch, the urge to say something came resting in their throats. Umi would cast her glances, Hanayo would cast her glances, but nothing happened.

Only the alpaca knew that they would get nowhere without talking soon. They had witnessed the girls go through this routine time and time again, and it only got worse and worse the more they realized their feelings for each other. Now it felt nearly stifling to observe them. It certainly hadn't taken this long for the white alpaca to make its intentions clear to the brown alpaca in comparison, but then again, humans were an odd sort, who continually sabotaged their own happiness by allowing their lives to become increasingly more convoluted than necessary, like a masochistic game they played. Hanayo started to brush the white alpaca's fur, and it grunted satisfactorily; whatever been on its mind just now was forgotten.

Umi placed the pitchfork aside and wiped her drenched forehead against her sleeve. It was tough work, the sort of job you wouldn't expect to do anywhere else but on some farm out in the country, but it was good work, and Umi surmised it might have even helped her build up her strength over the past number of weeks. Her confidence in her kyudo skills was certainly an improvement over before, pre-stables. Umi had already placed the second-place trophy on her shelf; it was the first one she'd ever won.

She stretched her arms overhead, yawning. She gave a ponder to if she should send Kotori a text, to see if she and Honoka were up for meeting up and eating somewhere tonight. She had no plans after school.

Neither did Hanayo.

"Umi...um..."

"Eh?"

"Would you...! Ah, I mean," Hanayo said in the middle of brushing the brown alpaca, "I was going to stop to get something to eat for dinner on my way home, I usually do on the days that I stay after-school to take care of the stables. I was wondering...would you like to go there with me?"

She left out the fact that she normally asked Rin to take this trek with her, and considering they'd made up quite well, Rin probably would have happily taken the offer. But Hanayo only wanted to ask Umi. Something compelled her to do it.

"You want to go out?" Umi asked, and when she and Hanayo both started to blush over the unintended implications of her poor phrasing, she was hasty to add, "Somewhere for dinner? To eat?"

"I thought I could treat you for dinner tonight...because of your victory yesterday..." Hanayo mumbled.

"You don't have to do that," Umi shook her head.

"Oh...?" Hanayo made her disappointment quite clear, and if her voice didn't make it obvious, she lowered her head in a dejected sort of way to emphasize her point.

Umi coughed nervously. "B-But...but...but..."

"Butt?" Hanayo said and cocked her head.

"But! I think I would like to go with you anyway. I'll take you up on your offer, Hanayo! Thank you!" Umi was probably more nervous than the first-year, but her excitement didn't pale in comparison; still, she was just at a loss with how she was feeling, what she should be feeling, what was right and what was wrong.

A sheltered upbringing in regards to sexual education was about to come undone and unravel at the bluenette's feet.

Hanayo beamed. "If you like rice, I'm sure you'll love this place!"

Umi didn't want to tell her that she wasn't a fan of rice; she had eaten it all the time with her family, they considered it an essential part to every meal, but the young woman had only ever put up with it for the sake of appeasing her parents. When out with friends or at school, she avoided eating as much rice as she could. However, she'd never break Hanayo's heart like this. She'd never want to be the one to shatter that beautiful, perfect smile. To keep that smile illuminating, she would eat all of the rice in the world. Umi was just that sort of person. To disappoint someone was tantamount to delivering a fierce slap across their face.

* * *

"Thank you for the food!"

"Thank you for the food."

Umi and Hanayo started to eat. It was a small but homely eating establishment, one that Umi had never been inside before, but as she was led here by Hanayo, she discovered it was a store she'd passed by on her way to and from school, but never noticed it once until now. They were one of the few couples there, a few friends and family, a few obviously lovers, but only Umi seemed to make note of them, as Hanayo immediately lunged for her rice the instant they'd finished saying their thanks. She had a large bowl of rice with fried egg on top, a container of soy sauce on the side. Umi went for the sushi and rice, if only because it had been some time since she'd last gotten to eat it.

Hanayo was so deep into her feasting that she did not notice Umi watching her. Even when she was in the middle of stuffing her face, Hanayo was still adorable; a few grains of rice clung to her cheeks as she shoveled clumps of it into her mouth with her chopsticks. Umi blushed. She returned to her own meal and started to eat. The bluenette attempted to eat slowly, but she could barely contain herself. Not only was the food delicious, but she hadn't realized how hungry she actually was until she took her first bite. Working for so long and so hard in the stables had worked up an appetite in her. They spent some time eating quietly to themselves, Hanayo practically swallowing her rice by the mouthful, until the need for conversation arose. To sit and eat without exchanging a word seemed like a lonely experience.

Unfortunately, there were only so many topics, and the one weighing the most on Umi's mind was a complicated subject indeed.

"Hanayo, about what happened yesterday...ahem..."

"Ah! Y-Yes...?" Hanayo licked one of the stray grains off of her bottom lip.

"With what Nozomi and the others said..." Umi's face started to burn; why did she have to blush so easily? Even for the girl it was getting to be bothersome.

"Yes, I remember that..." Hanayo was in the same boat, when it came to how simple it was to break out in a flush.

"Did Rin and Maki say anything about it to you?"

Hanayo ate a little more rice. "Maki...she didn't really say anything, she understands tact a little better, but she did ask me once if we had something going on between us. I wasn't sure what to tell her, but she didn't press me on it. Rin, though, oh, she wouldn't stop pestering me about it all day. She was texting me last night and asking me all these questions in between classes about what you and I do at the stables, and I told her, we were taking care of the alpacas! I know she just wants to see me be happy, but it's so...it's so..."

"So embarrassing?" Umi winced.

"Yes!" cried Hanayo.

"You're lucky, Hanayo," said Umi with a sigh.

"Eh?"

"You only have Rin bothering you. For me, Honoka and Kotori..." Umi scoffed, shaking her head, "They've always been like this, I think they actually get some enjoyment out of teasing me! Honoka especially. Kotori also likes to mess with me, but she never makes it obvious, but she thought she could get away using her 'onegai' against me, but it won't work on me anymore; I've come to be able to withstand it, although it's still difficult. Whereas Honoka was teasing me about a lot of things this morning already...she said too much..."

"Like what?" Hanayo was curious to know. She also had no idea what Umi meant by Kotori's 'onegai', whatever that might have been.

"Ah? Oh, uh...um...things like...it doesn't really matter, does it?" Umi let out a nervous chuckle. If she told Hanayo that Honoka had made jokes about them kissing or even getting married, it might not have been good for the sweet and innocent Hanayo's heart, or even Umi's own heart for that matter. She shouldn't have even brought it up in the first place, she'd walked herself right into a trap she'd made; Umi's lips curled, her teeth chattering behind them. Hanayo continued to stare at her. The first-year wasn't about to let it go without some kind of explanation. Umi's mind scurried to come up with a believable excuse, to change the subject. Her eyes darted to Hanayo's bowl.

"Ah! Hanayo, your egg-!"

Hanayo glanced down; some of her fried egg was starting to slip off of her bowl. "Oh no!"

Like a bird snatching an insect out of mid-air, the young woman used her chopsticks to catch the piece of egg before it hit the table, and scooped it straight into her mouth.

"Well we should probably finish our food first, shouldn't we? Before it gets too cold.

"Okay." Hanayo didn't want to lose her egg, but she wished she had the chance to inquire more about Honoka and Kotori's teasing. She wondered what Umi really thought about the idea of the two of them as a couple too. In fact, the more she thought about it, the less bothered Hanayo was with the concept. It seemed like a good concept, a very good one in fact.

* * *

After eating, Umi had offered to walk home with Hanayo, probably out of some desire to repay her for 'taking her out' in the first place, but Hanayo felt her heart pounding and skipping all over the place as she replied with a squeaky 'yes'. The girls paid, having settled on going dutch, and left. Fortunately, it turned out that the path to Hanayo's house wasn't too out of the way from Umi's normal route. Whether or not Umi realized what she was doing only enhanced the similarities of their eating out with an actual date, Hanayo didn't know, but there was no way an avid reader and watcher of all things romance like herself wouldn't have recognized this set-up.

Umi was kind. Umi was smart. Umi was sort of high-strung. Hanayo knew these things to be true, but what she really wished to confirm was where Umi's feelings truly lied. She had never thought this much about her upperclassman until they'd begun spending time together, and now she couldn't get the older girl out of her head. The teasing and the goading from Maki and Rin, Hanayo had brushed it off, but their words had her seriously consider what a relationship with Umi would be like. She could say with confidence that she did like Umi; she liked her a lot. But did she like her enough for it to be love? Did Umi secretly like her back? Could a relationship between the two of them, young people so painfully awkward and shy, actually manage to work? Hanayo nearly wanted to scream. No, what she really wanted was to bury her face in a nice, big pile of soft alpaca fur and just lay there for a while until her brain could sort itself out. But of course, she couldn't do that, so she just kept walking and thinking. Umi hadn't been very talkative since they'd left the restaurant, she'd not.

That was because Hanayo wasn't the only one who was facing a bit of an internal crisis of love, either. Umi kept thinking about how it would be really nice to hold Hanayo's hand while they walked, but then she'd mentally slap herself and tell herself to keep her hands pinned to her sides if she had to. It wouldn't be right to touch her that way; Hanayo was her underclassman, she had to treat her in a careful and respectful manner, as part of her responsibility as the older one here. Umi swallowed that desire down to the pit of her heart, just like every other desire she might have felt toward the violet-eyed girl in the past few weeks. She started to get paranoid, looking all around to make sure her nosy friends weren't spying on her. Honoka could probably talk everyone into trying to pair them up, if she really wanted.

Things were beginning to come to a head for the two girls. They could only be contained for so long, these rampant emotions running about inside.

"Oh, this is my house,"

"Is it? That was faster than I thought it would be!"

"Yes! I live right around the corner, really."

"It will take me at least twenty minutes to make it home from here, I believe."

"Ah, do you want to, um, come inside? I can make tea for you!"

"No, it's alright, I had tea at the restaurant,"

"Oh, yes...that's right..."

"I don't think I can stay for much longer, either. Now that my archery club is on break for a little while, I need to put all of my effort into school and writing new lyrics for our next song! Thank you again, Hanayo for showing me that restaurant too. I'll need to tell Honoka and Kotori about it sometime, once they've learned to lay off on me a little bit. Anyway...um...good night?"

"Good night, Umi!"

"Good night, Hanayo."

Hanayo waved, and Umi started down the sidewalk with a little too much speed in her step, to which Hanayo suddenly had an impulse to call out to her. For the first time since this whole confusing mess began, she decided to go with that impulse. She didn't know what brought her to this ultimately life-changing decision; maybe she was tired of flip-flopping around the issues, or maybe she finally wanted to settle the score with whatever her feelings about Umi were trying to tell her.

"Umi! Wait!"

Umi turned. Hanayo ran up to her and bowed her head.

"Umi, I...I want to thank you! For everything you've done for me! Helping me with the alpacas, listening to my problems, becoming my friend when I thought Rin and Maki had forgotten about me...I want to thank you for doing all of that for me! Thank you so much!" Hanayo reached out and grabbed hold of the older girl's arms. Umi didn't try to stop her.

"Hanayo!" Instead, Umi was shocked the girl said all of this; honestly, she didn't require any sort of thanks for everything she'd done. It had been done for her own sake as well. She hadn't been entirely selfless in offering Hanayo some help before. The arrangement had supported both of them during a rather difficult time. Umi wanted to make all of those points, but Hanayo had stunned her practically speechless.

"Umi..." Hanayo started to tremble like a leaf in a violent wind. That little impulse that had told her to tell Umi these things was now ordering her to do something else. Something she wasn't sure if she should do. Because if she did this one, simple thing, everything would change. No longer would she and Umi be able to remain friends. Hanayo, though...she wanted to do it too. She was now in cahoots with that crazy impulse, and it really wasn't so much an impulse anymore but an overwhelming and passionate desire.

"Hanayo?"

"I want to thank you properly." she'd read that line in a manga, and she'd wanted to use it at least once, even if she wasn't sexy enough to pull it off properly to its full effect.

Hanayo leaned in. She kissed Umi on the lips. Not on the cheeks, not on the nose, she went straight for the bluenette's mouth. It was a closed-mouth kiss, Hanayo's pert lips smearing themselves against Umi's in amateurish fashion. It was a sloppy and ungainly first kiss, but it was the very first kiss that both Umi and Hanayo had ever had. Umi's eyes bulged from their sockets. Hanayo's lips were wonderfully soft, tasting of egg and rice, with a hint of soy sauce.

Hanayo held the kiss for about three seconds before pulling her head away, and she opened her eyes to see the older girl looking at her with an uncomfortable face. The sort of face one would make in the first split-second of discovering the school principal and Maki's mom making out on the kitchen floor and their brain was still in the middle of registering it, while also being related to one of two mothers at the same time. It was a face THAT bad.

Hanayo had never done something like this before. She'd never considered herself a dominant person, like someone who would be brave enough to initiate a kiss. It was a side of herself she hadn't been aware of. She kind of liked it. However, her concerns right now were squarely focused on the unsettling expressions the girl she'd just kissed was giving her.

Umi gripped her head in her hands and started crying out. She tilt her head back and shouted at the clouds above. She was growing increasingly frantic with every passing word she spoke, and Hanayo began to feel she'd made a terrible mistake, joining forces with that impulse. Umi was flipping out.

"No...no...no! This can't be happening...! This is what I wanted to avoid! Oh, oh, that was my first kiss, and I just let her TAKE it! Gah! This is bad...this is bad! I shouldn't have let you do this! I should have stopped you! What am I going to do now? I can't get married anymore, can I? Can you get married? If you took MY first kiss, then I took YOUR first kiss! We're both girls, we shouldn't...no, I mean, girls can kiss girls, I guess, our friends certainly do that...but...but I shouldn't...and you...with me...! Please, believe me, I never meant to steal your kiss!"

"Umi, you didn't do anything wrong; I was the one who kissed you! I'll take all of the blame!" Hanayo was desperate to calm her down.

"Then why would you do that? It's, it's improper! Terribly improper! You didn't even ask me!" Umi screeched.

"Umi-"

The second-year shook her head. "I'm sorry, Hanayo! I...I need to go...right now!"

Umi was already running for the corner before Hanayo could catch her. Hanayo made chase, unwilling to let it end here, knowing she had to give Umi the proper explanation that she deserved. She wanted to apologize to her as well if she had to. Yet, in the depths of her love-addled mind, Hanayo still wished to have another experience of that kiss, even if it went against Umi's own desires.

"Umi! Wait!"

Hanayo turned the corner. To her surprise, and to her relief, she saw the second-year was sitting there, huddled in the shadows.

"Umi..."

Umi had her head buried into her knees. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry..."

Hanayo sat down beside her.

"Maybe I shouldn't have done it so suddenly, but Umi, I've..." Hanayo took a deep breath, "I've grown to like you a lot. Almost more than Rin, and she's been my best friend since we were kids. In a different sort of way, if you know what I mean."

Umi raised her head, golden orbs glazed with tears like pearls. "I think I do know what you mean."

"You don't have to feel ashamed for kissing someone, Umi. There's no shame in wanting to love someone before marriage, or anything like that, if that's what's bothering you." Hanayo assured her. She was already cringing at her own words; she didn't know how to handle this, she'd never had to comfort someone like this before, usually being the one getting comforted in the first place. She reached out to place her hand comfortingly on the girl's shoulder. Umi didn't try to stop her.

"I don't?" Umi sounded disbelieving, but she wanted to believe. Oh, how badly she wanted to believe.

Hanayo shook her head. "I was unsure about how I felt about you for a long time, since I've never felt this way for anyone, but, Umi, did you...did you like it when I kissed you?"

Umi sniffled. She looked directly into Hanayo's eyes. She thought about it, but the time it took for her to decide to speak the truth was less than a second spent.

"I did." she admitted.

Hanayo gripped Umi's shoulder a little tighter. She felt so happy all of the sudden. Like her heart had literally leaped and taken flight straight into the troposphere. She wanted to lean over and give Umi another kiss, but she was afraid that it would cause the poor girl's heart to give out.

Finally, after all of the mental and emotional stress they'd endured, the two girls knew where they stood with each other.


	5. Chapter 5

Rin stared at her phone. She took a sip from her milkshake. She checked her phone again. She took another sip. Looking to her cell for a third time, she saw that there were still no new messages.

"Argh! Where are you, Kayo-chin? Nyah!" Rin guzzled the rest of her milkshake and practically slammed the glass back down onto the table. She quickly regretted the action she'd done in a moment of frustration as she was struck with a nasty case of brain-freeze a few seconds later. She cried out, clutching her head.

Maki observed her girlfriend with just the tiniest hint of amusement at her suffering, but for the most part she was apathetic about it. She nonchalantly sucked on the straw of her own vanilla milkshake.

'_I didn't know you were so clingy, Rin_' was going to be Maki's initial retort, but then she remembered that the girl's literal love to cling on to people had always been one of her defining personality features, and Maki figured her actual meaning would go over her lover's head if she tried to make her joke. Best to play it safe.

"Why are you fretting so much about Hanayo NOW?" she chose to inquire instead.

"I'm FRETTING because Kayo-chin turned us down again to spend time with Umi! I sent her a text, and she still hasn't replied to it!" Rin groaned, rubbing her forehead, which felt like it was about to split wide open.

"Rin, you're acting weird; what's really going on?"

"I...I thought after we apologized to Kayo-chin, she'd be all up and ready to go out with us again...it's no fair that she chooses now to go running off and having fun somewhere else all the time..." Rin sighed.

"I think you're being a little-"

Rin continued, "And, um, I'm a little worried about her being alone with Umi too. Not in the way you think, nya!"

"What do you mean by that?" Maki raised an eyebrow.

"I trust Umi from doing anything bad, nya, but Kayo-chin, she's the one I worry about, nya. I've known her since we were kids, and she's super innocent, and really sensitive too. If the others were right, and she's starting to fall in love with Umi...I don't know if she'll know what to do! She could even start crying, nya! And in front of her crush, that would be super bad news! I want to help her but she never even came to me for advice, nya!"

Maki smiled. "You really do care about her, don't you?"

"Of course, nya!"

"...You better not be falling in love with her, though."

"I'm not, nya!"

"There's not much worse than a Nishikino scorned, I'll have you know."

"I...I didn't say anything about that, nya! I'm just a girl who cares about her friend! Is that so wrong, nya?"

Suddenly, Rin's cellphone let out a cat's call, of course. She'd received a text message.

"Ah?"

Picking up her phone, Rin noted there was one new message, and sure enough, it was from Kayo-chin herself. Rin lightly tapped on the touch-screen to open it.

"...Huh?"

"What is it? Is it Hanayo?" Maki leaned in, her chin nearly touching Rin's shoulder; she could smell the scent of vanilla shampoo in the other girl's hair.

"No way...Kayo-chin..." Rin was trembling like a leaf in a storm. It snapped Maki out of her hair-sniffing routine and actually become concerned for her girlfriend' mental state.

"What is it, Rin?"

Rin handed the phone over without explanation to Maki, who read the text on screen under her breath.

And then she cried out, "What do you mean they KISSED...?!"

With tears in her eyes and a forlorn expression, Rin looked out to the sunset. "Oh, Kayo-chin...you're growing up...you don't need me looking out for you anymore, nya..."

"G-Get yourself together, Rin!"

"Oh...no wonder you don't want to hang out anymore, Kayo-chin...nya..."

"Rin! Rin! It'll be okay, Rin!"

"Maki! Hold me!"

"Eh? D-Don't start crying all over me...! You'll ruin my dress!"

"Oh, Maki!"

"Ahh...there, there..."

* * *

Akihabara had become a place that Honoka and Kotori frequented often, not only because they found so many stores selling merchandise of their idol group (as it so happened, the girls had been discussing going to court for their likenesses being used without their permission), but because of the little cafe that Kotori worked as a secret part-time job; on her days off, the young woman liked to bring Honoka here and indulge in a variety of decadent desserts. It didn't hurt matters that Kotori was allowed a small price-cut due to being an established employee, so it helped her wallet as well as her relationship.

Kotori kept one hand levitating over her butter knife as she watched Honoka happily eat her peach cake and watching the other maids scurry about serving the other customers. Kotori didn't particularly like it when her best friend and girlfriend's eyes remained staring too long on any of the other women present, especially the older girls who had more prominent curves. It wasn't obvious on the outset, but Kotori was very 'protective' when it came to Honoka.

She'd already eaten through her plate of green tea ice cream with dark chocolate sauce and whipped cream, but Honoka was already eating her second cake.

"Mmm, so good!"

"Honoka, you always have such a big appetite," Kotori giggled.

"Heh heh, it's what happens when you grow up in a family who makes a business out of sweets!"

"Aren't you ever afraid of eating too much, though?"

Honoka grumbled. "W-Well...maybe it might make being an idol hard...but you would still love me, right?"

"Of course!" Kotori was quick to reply, even though she gave it no careful consideration until after declaring so. Yet it did not bother her. In fact, it might have even been a little appealing, the idea of having a soft Honoka to cuddle with. It could almost compare to having her own human-sized aplaca to snuggle. Embarrassed, Kotori shook such strange thoughts out of her head. Now wasn't the time.

"Hey, Kotori, can I ask you something?"

"Huh?"

Honoka lowered her fork onto her plate, having taken the last bite of her cake. "Do you think Umi is actually still mad at us for how we ignored her? We didn't even get to talk much at school today. I miss her."

Kotori's cellphone suddenly went off. She reached into her purse to grab it.

"I'm sure Umi isn't ignoring us, Honoka; remember, today she said she was going to take care of the alpaca with-"

Kotori stopped when she started to read the message on her phone.

"...Oh my..."

"Eh? What is it? Is it Umi? Can she come over?"

"Honoka...our little Umi, she's a woman now..." Kotori started to sniffle.

Honoka cocked her head to the side. "What?"

"It looks like she might need our help too."

"What?!"

* * *

Eri pulled away from Nozomi, knowing that despite all of their wishes, oxygen was a necessity to sustain their mortal bodies. Everything around them felt so hot, but what was hottest of all was what was happening inside them.

The half-Russian blonde laid atop her girlfriend of several years, their eyes remaining interlocked and their hands entwined as they panted heavily to regain breath. Their school jackets had been tossed aside, leaving the two young women in their white under-shirts; Nozomi's had been unbuttoned far enough to reveal a lovely amount of cleavage. Beads of sweat were clinging to their skin like flies on a fruit. Eri licked her lips, having undergone her transformation from well-behaved and rule-abiding school girl to a voracious, lustful predator behind closed doors. Nozomi enjoyed being dominant, hence the breast-gropings she performed now and then, but Eri knew her friend enjoyed being dominated once in a while too. It was the side of their relationship they did not talk openly about, but Eri figured most people wouldn't speak about their sex lives publicly in conversation. Having dated longer than any of the other couples, their friends were probably well-aware of the things they liked to do alone with each other.

Eri squeezed Nozomi's hand and released it as she started to move some twitching, greedy fingers toward the purple-haired girl's bust. She pressed a finger into the underside of her lover's right breast, watching how, even with a thin layer of fabric standing between them, her finger could still sink in so deep into that tit-flesh. She played with the soft mound of skin for a time, before finally moving that hand lower again to its rightful place. Nozomi's back arched, her head thrusting backward into her damp pillow.

"Erichi," Nozomi gasped, still breathless from the kisses.

"Nozomi..." Eri leaned in and resumed kissing her. Their tongues performed with all the skill and experience they'd obtained through years of practice with each other. Saliva dribbled from the corner of Nozomi's mouth.

"Erichi," Nozomi moaned in between sloppy kisses, her lips running all over Eri's lips and teeth as they covered each other in their slobber.

"Nozomi...what is it?" Eri took a moment to listen, at least to humor the girl.

"I just had...a good idea...to help Umichi and Hanachi...since Golden Week is coming up soon..."

Eri's face fell. "Wait a - you've been thinking about them this entire time...?"

Nozomi smirked, in response, "No...I had thought it already...but I didn't get to mention it...till now...I forgot about it, and it just popped into my head all the sudden..."

"You should have waited, silly 'Zomi..." Eri shifted her fingers around, causing Nozomi to tense up. Just a little bit of punishment.

"Sorry...Erichi..."

"We don't get to do this often, so please, Nozomi..."

"Heh heh...I didn't mean to make you upset, Erichi...I just had to get it off my mind," Nozomi caressed Eri's cheek, "Don't be mad now..."

Eri gave her a sweet little smooch. "I could never be mad at you."

* * *

Nico sat alone in her bedroom. Her siblings were sleeping in the room next door, and she didn't want to wake them. She wouldn't have to worry about cooking dinner for another two hours either. Instead she was curled up on her bed, clutching a pink rabbit under her arm, with her cellphone in her hands.

'She said she would be sending me a text around now...' Nico thought, and then she became angry with herself for being so concerned in the first place. She wasn't like an elementary school girl waiting around for her first crush to call her like he'd promised; she was too old to be acting this way, she was almost ready for college at her age. Yet still she continued to stare longingly at her phone's screen. It was Nico's only source of illumination as she remained submerged in darkness; she had been feeling too lazy to get up and actually turn on the light-switch.

Suddenly, her cellphone went off as it notified a recently arrived message. Nico's cheeks flushed; it was just the one she'd been waiting for. She opened it.

_How has my little imp been doing today?_

Nico turned even redder, wanting to bury herself underneath a mountain of her stuffed dolls and animals to escape this burning humiliation. She really couldn't believe she was doing something like this. It felt so wrong, so strange, like she'd dropped into a bizzaro world where everything was the same except for the fact that she was going out with one of the most popular school idols in all of Japan.

She had always admired A-Rise, absolutely adored them and all of their music even as they were becoming rival groups against each other, but she didn't think she was actually good enough to ever be any of their object of affection. Not only did the three young woman attend a far more prestigious school, but they were simply on a whole different level from Muse both in popularity and in skill. Nico was quite a prideful person, everyone she knew had noted that about her at least once or twice (if she was begin generous) but at the same time, she felt like it would be an affront to A-Rise to consider herself adequate to them. She respected them too much. Now things were going in that direction and she was stuck feeling like she'd come off a 24-hour roller-coaster ride.

So she replied like nothing was wrong and told her about how her day had been. The conversation soon turned to setting up a date sometime soon in the future, possibly during Golden Week. And even thought she felt so conflicted when their relationship began, Nico couldn't say that she wasn't looking forward to it. They were an odd match, the two of them, but they managed to find some companionship in each other at a time where they both felt left out by their friends. Still, Nico shivered; until she could finally summon up the courage to tell her friends the truth too, the uneasiness remained like a bad itch.


	6. Chapter 6

"Umi, come on! Give us the whole scoop!"

"You told us you kissed! But c'mon, don't be mean to us, Umi!"

"We want to know what happened! Are you two dating now? Are you really dating Hanayo?"

"Onegai, Umi! Onegai!"

"Umiiii...!"

Honoka, Umi and Kotori approached the school gates together that very next morning. Umi had tried to shut herself off to the jeering voices of her friends' pestering, as they had been provided only so few details about last night so far, and the young woman was starting to grow exasperated from dealing with it all. She'd been struck with a terrible headache upon waking that morning, and it had yet to die down. She wanted to tell them to shut up, but she didn't want to hurt either of their feelings, so instead she went with a tried and true option: she turned to them with her brightest smile...which quickly flipped upside down into her ugliest scowl.

"You two are beginning to get on my nerves. I refuse to say more about the kiss than I have already. Honoka, Kotori, I'm not going to discuss further about it until I feel comfortable enough doing so. Understand?"

Honoka and Kotori instantly bowed their heads.

"We understand."

Umi sighed. "Good!" She should have done that from the start, but she'd been suggested that she should try to handle situations without letting her temper run awry. Unfortunately, this attempt to keep her anger issues under control had been a complete failure. Once again, something disappointing to have to tell her therapist about.

"Ah! Look over there! It's the first-years!" Honoka pointed out.

Umi, despite a brief hesitation, turned her head in the direction Honoka jabbed her finger. A few dozen feet away were Rin, Maki and Hanayo, also walking together to school today. Hanayo was laughing at something Rin said while Maki tried to contain her own budding giggles. Umi was relieved to see that Hanayo was not being ribbed so mercilessly by her friends as she was. The first-year's smile looked like it sparkled n the morning sunlight, like a perfectly cut diamond, Umi thought, but then she snatched said thought and shoved it back into its dark and seedy hole. She wondered if she could find a chance to speak to her in between classes or during lunch break.

"Umi," the bluenette felt two pairs of hands press on her back.

"Huh?"

"Go over and talk to her already! She's your girlfriend, isn't she?" Honoka laughed.

Umi snarled at her.

"Eep! I...I mean, you know, only if you want to...!"

Kotori wrapped an arm over Honoka's shoulder, squeezing her own girlfriend tight. "We'll stay right here and we won't say a word, Umi! We'll just silently cheer you on, if you don't mind!"

Umi rolled her eyes; she really couldn't stay mad at these two for longer than a few minutes at most.

"Umi, we want you to be happy too, okay? That's all we really want! We really do love you!" Honoka assured her friend.

"Sometimes I wonder that, with how much you two love to tease me...!"

"We tease you because we love you!"

"That doesn't make any sense in my book!" Umi cried.

"Okay, we'll stop teasing you so much all the time," Kotori exclaimed, "But please, Umi, don't be afraid! Go and talk to her while you still can!"

"Yeah, they're looking at us right now." Honoka remarked.

Umi gasped. Hanayo was staring directly at her now. Rin and Maki had settled into silence, looking back and forth between Umi and their friend, all the while seeming unsure whether they should stay or go. They eventually settled on 'go', Rin taking Maki's hand as they bid Hanayo a hasty farewell before darting through the scattered crowds for the school doors. Honoka and Kotori pushed Umi forward. The bluenette briefly stumbled, but she caught herself, cast a look at her friends, who were giving her thumbs-up. Sighing heavily, Umi walked over and approached Hanayo.

"H-Hello! Good morning, Hanayo!" Umi bowed.

"Good morning, Umi!" Hanayo bowed back.

The two of them were once again stuck in an impasse, brought upon them by the curse that was their crippling shyness. Fortunately or unfortunately, it was a trait that they both shared, so neither felt particularly humiliated about it in front of the other. Hanayo nervously shuffled her feet, Umi scratched the back of her head. Their minds were reeling from the memories of last night, particularly the small but very important part where they actually took each other's first kiss. Umi laughed nervously. Hanayo unsteadily giggled back. The second-year looked back to her friends for some advice, but she saw that they had already taken off; so much for their friendship, they had abandoned her to her fate. Umi sighed.

"Hanayo, I..."

Hanayo reached out, taking Umi's hand into her own. Umi started to blush.

"Umi, do you...um..."

The hair on the back of Umi's neck started to tingle; did Hanayo want to kiss her again? Right now? In the morning? In front of the entire school? Umi's heart started to race, and she prepared herself to shut the girl down. A kiss wasn't a terrible thing, in fact it was quite wonderful, but she needed some time to mentally steel herself for that next smooch, if it was going to happen. Then Umi realized she was thinking way too deeply into this, and she started to panic even more-

Hanayo grinned. "Do you...want to walk to class together?"

"Eh?" Umi said.

"If you don't want to, I'm sure Honoka and Kotori are waiting somewhere nearby...!"

Umi shook her head. She gave Hanayo a confident squeeze of her hand. She told herself to stop freaking out so much; Hanayo was just a girl, like her, and she wanted to be with her, just like Umi felt the same way. Were they a couple yet? Maybe they were after what they'd done, Umi didn't know for sure, but that only meant she needed to treat the younger girl even more carefully, with even more dignity and respect to her feelings.

"No, let's walk together."

Hanayo literally lit up, and Umi felt herself immediately start going faint again. This girl, she was just too damn adorable for words.

'Who cares if we're both girls, dammit?'

Umi had never been much for swearing, not even inside her own head, but she had to tell that little paranoid, fearful side of her brain to shut up and sit down already; it wasn't going to ruin this moment for her.

* * *

Classes came and went. As soon as the last bell rang, the nine girls converged at the idol club room to discuss upcoming plans for Golden Week.

"Let's go to the beach!"

"But we've been to the beach! Twice!"

"Eh? The beach is really fun, though..."

"Honoka, I don't think you should get to choose what we do for Golden Week."

"Hey! That's not fair! I'm only offering suggestions!"

"Let's all figure out something we can agree on together, okay?"

Honoka and Kotori sat together, Maki and Rin sat together, Eri and Nozomi sat together, and Umi and Hanayo inevitably were left to sit next to each other as well. Nico seemed detached from the rest of the group, not only in terms of her contributions to the conversation, but because she was rather drawn into whatever she was typing on her phone at the time. Umi and Hanayo tried to ignore their friends' stares and pretend like nothing was happening; they had held hands all the way to class, but after that, they hadn't seen each other the rest of the day until now. It was almost like the other girls were expecting them to start kissing in front of them at any moment. Fat chance of that. They'd exchanged a few friendly words upon arriving at the club room, but aside from that, there had been nothing happening.

"Umi, Hanayo, what do you two think?" Honoka asked.

"Huh?"

"Isn't there anywhere you want to go for Golden Week? Don't you want to go to the beach?" Honoka insisted.

"Um...well..." Umi looked over to Hanayo for help, but she seemed just as lost.

"Actually, Erichi and I were discussing some ideas," Nozomi announced, "And we thought, with permission from Makichi's parents of course, that we could spend those few days at her vacation house in the mountains again!"

"Eh? The mountain house? Again, nya?" Rin groaned.

"The mountains..." Umi remembered being there once before, and how her little obsession with mountain-climbing was what she was pretty sure nearly got Rin and Nozomi killed at one point. The mountains were beautiful, true, but she didn't know if they needed to go again.

"The mountains were fun last time, but what would we do there now?" Kotori asked.

"I'm sure my parents would allow it, they rarely use the place themselves outside of winter vacation," Maki explained, "Why would you want to go there though? I'm sure the beach would be fine, we spent a lot of time practicing there last time, so..."

Eri tapped her pen on the table. "Maki, Rin, Honoka, Kotori, Nico, can you all come over here for a moment?"

"What?" Nico glanced up from her cellphone; she had been glued to it since the meeting began.

"Just for a moment, please."

The five named girls stood up from their seats and followed the two seniors to a corner of the room, leaving Umi and Hanayo feeling a little left out of the ring. It hardly took them a few seconds to think about it and assume that whatever the girls were going to be whispering about, it had to do with the newly-established couple in their midst. Umi sighed; her friends were truly the nosiest people on the planet, even if she still loved them all. She cast a glance in Hanayo's direction, flashing her an uneasy smile, which Hanayo returned within the second.

"So...now that we're all couples, could we promote ourselves as a yuri idol group?" Honoka suggested. Kotori snorted into her first when she started laughing.

Eri shut the second-year down instantly. "No. Now listen, Nozomi has an ulterior motive for suggesting we go to the mountain house."

"Ulterior motive, nya?"

Nozomi nodded, a twinkle in her eye. "Yes, the real reason I want us to go there...is to help our two lovely friends of there strengthen their relationship."

"You want to play matchmaker with Umi and Hanayo?"

"Aren't they already a couple? They kissed, nya!"

"Yes, but have you seen them? They're still so painfully shy, the poor things! They refuse to even kiss again after last night! The mountains are more secluded than the beach, so it would help give them time alone, away from other people. We need to set them up in the the right kinds of situations to get them to bond, so that they would feel more comfortable with each other...and become a proper couple!"

"You're not trying to make them do weird stuff just so you could tape it, are you?" Nico casually remarked.

"I may be a pervert, Nicochi, but I'm not THAT bad! Honest!" Nozomi let out a wry chuckle.

"I would like to help Umi if I could!" Kotori said.

"Me too!" added Honoka, and Rin nodded to show her support as well.

"With a house that big, we can all still have our own fun too, so don't worry, this trip won't all be about those two." Nozomi winked, eliciting hot blushes and nervous laughter from the other girls.

Nico reached into her pocket to remove her phone.

"Who do you keep texting? You've been on your phone a lot lately." Maki noted when she saw this.

"N-None of your business...!" Nico retorted.

"Hmph. Fine." The two girls had not been on the best speaking terms since Maki and Rin got together, a lot of painful and one-sided feelings had been left behind.

"Okay? So are we all agreed? Maki, you can ask your parents tonight, right?"

"I'll do it." Maki said.

"Good! So then, let love prevail!"

"Nozomi...I think you've been watching too much magical girl anime lately..."

"E-Erichi, please, not so loud about that...!"

Nico resumed texting with her hidden girlfriend as she walked back to her seat. She was going to have rearrange their Golden Week plans a little, it seemed.


	7. Chapter 7

The winter manor of the Nishikino family was just the same as the girls had seen it last, of what felt like ages ago. It was a literal mansion secluded from the rest of human society's ugliest traits, far away from all the tall skyscrapers, needless pollution and gas-spewing automobiles; instead it was surrounded by hills, mountains, streams and trees, nothing but pure and untouched nature for miles and miles. After spending their entire morning hopping from train to train to reach this slice of natural paradise, the nine school idols finally arrived just as the afternoon sun was at its highest peak.

"Whoo-hoo! We finally made it, nya!" Rin threw her arms up in the air.

"Yes! And this time Honoka didn't forget to get off the bus with us!" Kotori cheered.

Honoka winced. "Ah, Kotori, p-please, don't mention that, not now. It was a long time ago!"

"Hee hee, but still, it is kind of cute. Only you could make such a mistake like that, Honoka!"

"What does that mean, Kotori?"

Maki hurried past the others with the house keys in hand, speaking to her mother over the phone. "Yes, mom, I...I know...I know...we'll be careful...I already told you, we won't open the door for strangers or bears or whoever else...we'll be careful, really...yeah...yeah..." Maki sighed, "Okay, mom, I understand...please stop, mom, I-I'm not a child anymore, geez...no, I'm not being 'tsundere' right now, mom...and, eh, did you really just say that? What are you thinking? I can't believe my own mother just said that! No! What do you mean it's okay, mom? Nothing's okay when you're saying - ah, look, forget it! I'll call you again later tonight and tell you how everything is going here, but I need to go now! You don't have to call me, I'll call you, I promise I will! Thank you and dad again for letting us use the winter house! Love you both! Yes, goodbye!"

Maki exited the call and shoved her phone back into her jacket pocket. "I can't believe my mother sometimes."

"What happened?" Eri asked.

Maki looked away, blushing as she always did as she quietly replied, "She told us to be careful, to keep the door locked, don't let strangers inside, don't use the gas grill when cooking, don't stay out too late without the proper camping equipment, stay close to one another, and...and don't make out too much, among other things, ahem."

"Whoa, your mother is really on the up and up, isn't she, nya? Did you actually tell her about all of us?"

"B-Be quiet, Rin! And no, I didn't!" Maki sighed; her mom might have been sneaking 'little peeks' at her diary again. The teen made a mental note to dispose of the book as soon as she got home.

One of the Nishikino family's hired guards had met up with the idols at the train station and drove them all the way to the mountain house. After helping the girls remove their luggage from the back of the car, he bid them a quick farewell and took off, taking the car with him. Apparently he would return after Golden Week to pick them up, but he wasn't stationed too far away in case they needed help. All any of the girls could really think of when they first met him and when they saw him off was that he never took off his sunglasses, and Hanayo had caught sight of a gun hidden behind his coat. Fortunately, he seemed trustworthy in spite of the suspicious wear and gear.

"Kotori, Nozomi, do you two need some help?" Umi offered, approaching the two girls.

Kotori and Nozomi had brought the largest amount of luggage, several bags between them each. Clearly, Kotori had some intention of working on her costume designs while they were here, and Nozomi must have brought along of little 'tricks and traps', none of which Umi wanted to know about if they involved anything inappropriate. Knowing Nozomi as well as any other member of Muse except for Eri, the chances of that being a possibility were astronomically high. In fact, it was probably 99-percent certain.

"Huh? Oh, no, Umi, it's fine...!" Kotori waved it off.

"Yes, Umi, I can handle it all, and if I need help, I can always ask Erichi to help," Nozomi beamed, "Why don't you go and see if Hanayo needs any help? She looks like she could use an extra hand with her bags, the poor thing!"

Umi looked over to see that Nozomi wasn't lying, Hanayo appeared to be struggling carrying a certain black, rice cooker-shaped bag in her arms, while also having another bag that likely contained all of her clothes and necessities slung over her shoulder. Of course someone like her would put the rice cooker over essential items. Umi sighed. She took a glance back at Kotori and Nozomi, to see them smirking at her, those cheeky little smiles Umi had become so used to seeing over the past few days. It was like they were daring her to help Hanayo, even though Umi would have done it whether they were now maybe-dating or not. The bluenette gave them a dismissive huff and left them to their own devices.

"Hanayo, hold on."

"Ah, Umi," Hanayo's knees were trembling as she tried to carry the rice cooker further, "Um...I'm sorry to bother you with this, when you have your own stuff to attend to, but...but if you could..."

"It's not a problem." Umi reached out and began wrapping her hands around the bag. She accidentally brushed her fingers over Hanayo's, and they both momentarily stopped. Their ears reddened, as did their cheeks. Umi noticed how warm Hanayo's hands felt, and she could even feel the tiny scratches on them, minor injuries she'd probably acquired working so diligently at the alpaca stables. Umi squeezed her hand over Hanayo's as they looked into each other's eyes.

"Oh..."

"Ah..."

The rice cooker slipped from their conjoined grasp. It hit the ground.

"Gah!"

"Oh no! Oh no!"

"Hurry, we need to...pick it up!"

"Oh, please don't be broken, please don't be broken, please don't be broken!"

The other girls watched on, feeling both pity and amusement for the girls at the same time, but their overall emotions toward the scene generally fell in the latter category.

"They may be needing a little more help than I initially thought," Nozomi noted, "Good thing I prepared for something like this...!"

"Don't give up, Umi; keep on fighting! I know you can do it!" Kotori said.

"Come on already! Nozomi, tell Umi and Hanayo to hurry up! Let's get inside so we can pick out our rooms and unpack!" Eri called back to them, standing in the doorway of the mansion. Honoka, Maki, Nico and Rin had long since gone inside themselves.

* * *

"So who are you picking this time?" Maki asked, fiddling with the buttons on her controller. She and Rin were sitting down in front of a massive wide-screen television with one of Maki's several Playstation 3s, propping themselves against a pair of brightly-colored beanbags. The redhead wasn't much of a gamer, but she had bought a large variety of games over the years, mostly to keep herself entertained during vacation whenever her parents were busy showing off to their wealthy guests, watching television or just 'snuggling' in the living room. Rin's overall experience in gaming was about the same level as her girlfriend's. However, this was a game the two of them had played several times before already, one they enjoyed thoroughly for its competitive aspect. Mortal Kombat.

"I want to be Scorpion, nya!"

"You're always Scorpion!" Maki complained.

"But you're always Sub-Zero, nya!"

"And you're always Scorpion!"

"Scorpion is better than Sub-Zero anyway!"

"What are you talking about? Scorpion only has that spear! Sub-Zero can control ice! That's far more impressive!"

"Did you forget that one finisher where Scorpion uses fire breath? I don't know much but I at least know fire would melt ice, nya!"

"Can't you just pick someone different, Rin?" Maki sighed.

"...Should I play as Liu Kang, nya?" Rin sounded sad, and Maki noticed.

"That'd be good...and I'll play as Johnny Cage instead...n-not because I felt like a jerk for yelling at you or anything, but because I realized Sub-Zero has been a little overdone, just a little!"

Nico, who was watching from the couch, seriously couldn't believe what she was witnessing right now was actual reality in front of her. "Were you two seriously going to start arguing over something like this? Not to mention, this is a game you two play when you bond?"

"It's not the only game, it just happens to be one we've played a few times before." Maki said to her.

"Then you like it."

"Fighting games are fun, nya! Fight-o!" Rin exclaimed. Maki chuckled under her breath at her girlfriend's cuteness; she was quite positive the longest amount of time she'd ever stayed mad at Rin for being annoying was about a minute and thirty seconds, and today she wasn't expecting to beat that record.

Hanayo placed a hand over her mouth, face paling. "I...I don't think I can watch this game. All of the violence and blood makes me a little queasy."

"Probably better go, if you're going to get like this before they even start the match." Nico dryly remarked to her, and the first-year agreed. She got up from the couch and headed for the porch door to cool her head and get some fresh air. It was already evening, and from outside the window, she could see the sun beginning to settle between the mountain peaks, the sky flushing with brilliant orange light, like a painting almost. Hanayo smiled. It was nice to be able to come back to this place again; Nozomi had been right on suggesting the mountain house. Where she and Eri were right now, though, she could not say. Honoka and Kotori were suspiciously absent as well; with the number of rooms in the manor, it would take ages to locate them. The first-year had a feeling that they didn't want to be found, either.

"Ah! H-Hanayo...!"

Umi was sitting on the backyard porch, a book in her hands and a bag lying at her feet. Of course it would be Umi. Maybe the other girls had her come out here specifically so they would run into each other. This was still a good thing, though.

Hanayo smiled back.

"Hi, Umi! Do you mind if I sit here with you? I'm not really interested in watching the game Maki and Rin are playing..."

"No, it's fine, really." Umi quickly replied before burying her face into her book, almost literally. Hanayo sat down in the open chair beside her.

Time passed. Silence prevailed. Eventually, the bluenette could not stand it any longer. If they were going to get anywhere in this 'relationship' of theirs, if it was real or not, then communication needed to happen; as much as the thought terrified her, she had to come out of her shell, dragging Hanayo out of hers too. They'd kissed, so she was already half-way, which should make this part a little easier.

Umi shut her book.

"Would you like to go on a walk in the woods? Just for a moment?"

"Ah! S-Sure." Hanayo stood up. "Are you sure you want to go into the forest? It's starting to get dark."

"We'll just walk to the stream and back. It'll only take twenty minutes."

"Hmm...okay..."

Umi had come this far; to give up now would be an affront to all of her ancestors. They'd kissed, they'd held hands, they'd shoveled alpaca poop together. That had to mean for something. She hoped it did.

* * *

"Honoka, they're moving!" Kotori called from the bedroom window, using a pair of binoculars she'd brought for 'bird watching' to spy in on Umi and Hanayo.

Honoka leaned in beside her, snacking on a piece of bread. "Yeah?"

"It looks like they're going into the forest."

"You said they might do that, didn't you?"

"No, Nozomi said that," Kotori frowned, "But I'm worried about them doing this when it's so late already. That bodyguard who drove us here, he told us that bears had been spotted around this area before. They won't come close to houses like this one, but they still hang around by the mountains. Who knows if one might get curious and wander too close..."

"Kotori, I think you need to calm down." Honoka kissed her cheek, "It'll be all fine! We just want to see Umi blossom into a young woman in love! That's right! There's no problem here! Yeah! Whoo!"

"...Ah, it's not that easy following them when there's so many trees in the way." Kotori remarked. She waited a beat, and then said, "I lost them already, Honoka."

"Eh?!" Honoka dropped her bread out of shock.

* * *

"Damn it," Maki grimaced; this was the third match in a row that she'd lost. Normally she was much better on her game, and she usually won once or twice, but never three times one after the other. It almost made her want to throw her controller onto the ground in frustration. She watched her character's head explode and his body be ripped apart by savage flames, which then led into the results screen. Rin cheered, throwing her hands and her controller into the air, catching it a half-second later.

"Ha ha ha! I won, nya! There you go! I'm the champ, nya! You wann admit defeat, Maki?"

"Let's try another match!" Maki demanded.

"Aw, again? Can't we play another game now, Maki? Just because you lost-"

"One more match! I'll play Kratos this time!"

"Nyaaah...then I'll be Freddy Kreuger..." Rin was bored of this game, and she grumbled out her words.

"Hmph." Maki was a little jealous at how perfectly Rin was able to say his name so fluently in Japanese like that.

Nico got off of the couch, her cellphone open in her hand. "I'm gonna turn in."

"Eh? So early, nya?"

"I'm beat from riding the rails all day. I ate, so I'm done. I'll have fun with you two dorks tomorrow. We can play DDR then."

"W-We're going to do more than just sit around and play videogames...!" Maki cried, embarrassed that she might have unintentionally given that impression.

Nico waved. "Night."

The third-year walked until she was standing at the edge of the staircase. She glanced over her shoulder to see Maki and Rin had returned to their game, fully invested in it. Checking her phone again, she read the text that her secret girlfriend had already arrived. She had taken the same route as the idols did, which Nico had relayed to her, but only by getting on the next train an hour later, so that they would avoid risking running into each other in public. Nico wanted to see her, but she didn't want the rest of Muse to find out; it could be bad for both her and her girlfriend, especially if word got back to A-Rise too. Waiting for another minute to ensure the first-years were engrossed with their virtual fight, Nico turned and started moving toward the back of the house, to sneak out.

They were going to meet up in the woods and spend some much-needed quality time together. She took one final peek at Maki and Rin, who were already clamoring for yet another rematch, and she slipped away to sink into the shadows.

* * *

Umi took in a deep breath, letting the cool, fresh air fill her lungs. It helped calm her heart just a little, but it still felt like it was a train rushing along the tracks, prepared to crash through her rib-cage and go flying off into space at any given moment. She stared into those shimmering puddles of violet and held onto her hand with a sturdy grip. She could feel the hand she was holding tremble, but she could have easily guessed it was her own hand shaking too. The two of them stood at the edge of a small cliff, not far from a drop that would have given scrapped knees and bruised elbows but not much else, overlooking a stream that ran through the forest, so effortlessly in fact that it seemed like the woods had made a conscious effort to craft a path for the running water so that it could flow perfectly. The sun was nearly gone, dipping behind the mountainside as its light faded. It was a pleasant sight, one worth taking one's breath away; two graceful deer approached the stream to take a drink, one of them cautiously observing the two girls from the corner of its round, dark eye.

Umi felt like it was finally time to pop the question. They had gone far enough from the mansion that none of their friends would be spying on them.

"Hanayo!" Umi exclaimed rather suddenly, surprising the other girl.

"Y-Yes...?"

"Do you still...ah...um..." Umi started to lose her nerve the longer she stared at Hanayo; she was beautiful. A different sort of beautiful from Honoka or Kotori, who were beautiful to her as her friends. A different sort of beautiful from Eri, Nozomi, or any of the other members of Muse, who were beautiful on their own. Hanayo was beautiful in a way that it made Umi feel strikingly different than any of her friends or fellow idols. It was a beauty that affected her heart. She'd only come to notice this beauty the more time she spent with her, but it had surely always been there from the very beginning. It was a beauty influenced by physical attraction, true, but her personality had definitely played a part. She was so innocent, so sweet and so gentle, Umi was always a little afraid when she hugged her, as if she might shatter the girl under her clumsy and inexperienced touch.

"You can say it, Umi," Hanayo reassured her.

Umi gulped. "Hanayo, we've been...no...I mean, ah, I had planned out a whole speech and I was ready to ask you, and now I'm starting to lose my focus and I don't remember what I wanted to say, now I'm yammering on and on and making myself look like a bigger idiot than I already do-"

Hanayo silenced her with a kiss. The second kiss they'd ever shared.

"Uh..." Umi was dumbfounded. Again, Hanayo had been the one to initiate it. It was a little humiliating, to be the upperclassman yet have her lips handled so freely by a younger girl like this.

"Umi, just say what you want! It's only us!" Hanayo was smiling, but on the inside, she was screaming to death over how embarrassing it was that she had just kissed her again without permission. Embarrassing, but oddly uplifting all the same. She knew that she needed to be gentler when dealing with someone so incredibly innocent, but whenever she saw Umi get freaked out...it excited her, just a little bit. Still, she wanted the bluenette to feel confident enough to speak her mind, too.

"Hanayo, would you want to, um, be with me...?" Umi asked, wincing.

"Be with you? How do you mean?" Hanayo replied.

"Y-You know what I mean!"

"Umi, just say it outright...!"

"I-I want you to b-be with me the way H-Honoka is with Kotori, Eri is with Nozomi, Maki is with Rin...ah, we really are a bunch of couples, aren't we? I thought it was against 'idol rule' for an idol to be dating, because it had an adverse effect on their fans?"

"Eh? You...you remembered when I told you about that?" Hanayo blushed. She was actually touched that Umi had bothered to memorize their discussions to even recall a minor detail like that one. None of the other members of Muse, except for Nico who'd already known it, had paid attention to her during her lecture.

"Of course." Umi said.

"I don't know. I remember that it meant having a relationship with someone outside of the group, specifically a man, was forbidden, because it ruined an idol's expected reputation among her fanbase of being pure and available to them. However, as for relationships between female members in the same idol group...if we use it right, it might be able to make us more popular with people who like that sort of thing..."

"No! Wait!" Umi cried.

"Eep!"

"I'm sorry, Hanayo! I'm letting us get off-track!" Umi shook her head wildly, "L-Let me tell you want I'm really trying to say!"

"Okay..." Hanayo's heart started to beat so hard and so loud, it almost blocked out her hearing altogether.

Umi stared at the first-year. She stared at her eyes, and she stared at her lips. Hanayo really was beautiful. Thinking back on that second kiss they'd just shared, Umi's face burned. She didn't want to be shown up over and over like this, it was humiliating for her. She wanted to kiss her back so, so badly. In that instant, something changed inside of the young woman. She realized that the best way to get her point across would be the simplest way. Hanayo had certainly shown it worked a few minutes ago, and now it was her turn. Umi started to move in, puckering her lips as she leaned closely. Hanayo prepared her lips as well and shut her eyes. Umi could feel Hanayo's breath on her face, and her breath on Hanayo's.

"Hanayo, do you want to date me...?" Umi finally managed to ask it.

"That depends; do YOU want to date ME? Even though I'm, well, me?" responded the other girl.

Umi's lips were literally no more than an inch away from touching Hanayo's. She replied matter-of-factly, "It's because you're you, Hanayo."

"Umi," Hanayo shivered. There was no need to hold back any longer. They began to kiss feverishly as the sky darkened over their heads. Umi held Hanayo, one arm on the girl's shoulder and the other drape around her back, as they continued to kiss. It was slow but hesitant kissing, every touch careful but awkward, as neither wanted to mess up for a single second. They had already kissed before, and they were trying to pass that final emotional barrier through their intimacy, but they were still unseasoned amateurs in the art of romance. Umi fumbled a little, Hanayo shook more than she needed to, but they were thoroughly enjoying themselves nonetheless. They were honestly happy, locked mouth to mouth and away in their own little world.

Suddenly, a rustle.

Umi and Hanayo instantly pried themselves apart. Without so much as a word, Umi was already running for her bag. She opened it to reveal a bow and a pack of arrows. Hanayo gasped. Umi grabbed an arrow from the bag and stood up, holding her bow out in front of her. She aimed at the bush. More rustling. Umi's mind was swimming from the kisses and how wonderful they'd been, but now that marvelous rush of emotions was being poisoned with fear. Things had taken a wrong turn so quickly, it almost left her with whip-lash. Hanayo scuttled behind Umi for safety. She had heard about bears, but they'd said they didn't usually stray this far in. With the sun setting, it was becoming darker, which meant it was getting difficult for Umi to properly aim. She didn't know how much good an arrow would do, but if she put her trust in her skills...

Something lunged out, sending up a flurry of leaves around it. Umi let the arrow fly.


	8. Chapter 8

Erena Toudou shrieked. Her idol training had served her well, her reflexes were razor-sharp. She ducked to the ground just in time, the arrow flying over her head. It would have hit her right ear if she hadn't avoided it.

Umi gasped. Hanayo gasped. Erena's heart was pounding like a parade of drums in her chest and ears. She had a white travel bag slung over her shoulder and she was wearing casual clothes; a green jacket, white t-shirt and a blue stripped skirt, a great contrast to the fancy UTX uniform the other school idols were used to seeing her in. Actually, her choice of attire, curious as it was, was also probably the very last thing that either Umi or Hanayo should have been questioning at that moment. Erena slowly, unsteadily, lifted herself off of the ground.

"You're...! You're Erena Toudou! From A-Rise!" Hanayo cried.

"I am..." Erena gulped, a little pale as she nervously eyed the second-year standing beside Hanayo. Umi sheepishly hid her bow behind her.

"I-I'm very sorry for shooting at you! I didn't mean it! I thought you were a bear!" Umi exclaimed, feeling like she was about to cry herself, she was so humiliated and ashamed, "You didn't say anything...and...and then I panicked...!"

Erena breathed in, and she breathed out. She reached up and brushed back a few strands of hair that had managed to come loose. She coughed and shook her head.

Looking Umi and Hanayo straight in the eye, Erena suddenly seemed so much more like a member of the school idol group A-Rise, multiple-time winner of the Love Live competition and the greatest group of rivals that Muse could ever claim to have. She was shockingly imposing, and she didn't need the other two members backing her up to do it either. Umi felt compelled to look away, afraid of what might happen if she looked at the other girl for too much longer. Hanayo, on the other hand, was glued to the spot. It was like the terrified, shaken Erena they'd just seen moments ago was nothing but a figment of imagination, a faint ghost, a trick on the eyes.

"I'm glad no one was hurt, at least. Especially me." Erena replied. She noticed how shaken the other girls seemed to be, despite not having just had an arrow fired at their heads, "Are you two alright? Did I really scare you that badly?"

"N-No, it's just...ah, nothing..." Umi was regaining her focus a little better now; Erena was just another girl like them at this very moment, not an enemy school idol they had to face off against on the stage. The shock of seeing her was still lingering, but that was less of an issue. There was no need for her to be so tense, so she forced herself to relax. Hanayo reached a similar decision, but now she was beginning to contemplate about how to properly ask for an autograph.

"Erena, if you're here, are the other members of A-Rise around as well?" asked Umi.

Erena suddenly started to blush, the color spreading across her entire face. She timidly gave her head a shake.

"N-No, I'm actually up here on my own."

"What? On your own? Did you know that we would be here too?" Umi asked. Honestly, there were a ton of questions she wanted to ask, but she didn't want to seem rude about it either. Erena nervously shuffled on the spot.

"Um...I'm...I'm here to see someone...to tell the truth..." she blushed.

"Erena!" a fourth voice suddenly entered the scene. It was Nico, and she immediately ran over to address the purple-haired girl.

"Nico-nii," Erena said, breathing a sigh of relief.

Nico looked at Erena, then at the arrow wedged into the tree behind her, and finally at Umi and Hanayo. She was fuming at that point. For someone usually so small and cute, she knew how to look pretty mad too.

"You shot my girlfriend?!" she shrieked.

"I...I didn't hit her! And it was all a big mistake!" Umi exclaimed on her own behalf. Then she stopped. "Wait...your girlfriend?"

Nico slapped her hands over her mouth. "Urk!"

"Ah, I think I was going to have tell them before long anyway to explain me being here, my little imp. Don't feel bad about it. After all, where would I have to stay while I'm here except at their place? The secret was bound to come out." Erena consoled and rubbed Nico's shoulder.

"Okay, I'm sorry about that, alright? I was so excited about you coming here, I didn't think everything through! I thought you could stay somewhere in the nearby town, but I didn't realize it would have been too far away!"

"Eh? Wait a minute..." Hanayo raised a shaking finger, pointing at the two of them, "Nico, you...and Erena Toudou from A-Rise...you're dating?"

"I had wanted to keep it a secret from you guys." Nico grumbled.

"It's a little complicated, but I suppose I could say that she's my girlfriend, just as Nico-nii called me her girlfriend." Erena replied.

"Yeah, I did, didn't I...?" weakly chuckled the third-year. Erena smiled at her.

Umi and Hanayo looked at each other, lost for words. This was not a development either of them could have ever anticipated. Granted, it was a happy thing that Nico wasn't the loneliest member of Muse after all, but for it to be Erena Toudou, one of their opponents in the Love Live, was a curious thing. Very curious. However, to figure out what would happen next would have to wait, as they needed to return to the manor right away. The four girls didn't want to stand around waiting for a real bear to show up.

Erena reached out to take Nico's hand, and the smaller girl bashfully presented it. Umi and Hanayo held hands as well, only after a little bit of fumbling into doing it properly.

They heard a number of voices calling out their names as they drew closer to the manor, and they could see through the trees that every single light in the house had been turned on.

"Umi! Hanayo! Nico! Where are you guys?"

"It's too dark out! It's dangerous to be outside this late! Come back!"

"Follow the sound of our voices, Kayo-chin! Nya! I'll make you rice for lunch every day from now on if you come back home!"

"Come home, girls! I promise I won't grope you anymore!"

Maki was scrolled through the list of phone numbers on her cellphone. "Ugh, I think I'm going to need to call that bodyguard over if they don't come back in the next few minutes."

Nico burst out from the forest, a few leaves and twigs clinging to her hair and clothes as she hurried to stop them, "Wait! Hold on! We're here! We're here!"

"Nico! There you are!" Eri was the first to snap at her, "We looked in your bedroom and you weren't there! We searched all over the house before we realized you sneaked out! I thought you told Maki and Rin you were going to bed! What were you doing out there?"

"Hey! Where were you and Nozomi all this evening anyway? I hadn't seen you two since lunch and NOW you bother to show yourselves again?" Nico retorted, a comeback that immediately served to shut down the blonde, leaving her blushing a pretty shade of pink as a result. Nozomi snickered behind her hand, far less embarrassed by it.

Erena, Umi and Hanayo soon revealed themselves as well.

"I'm sorry for making you all worry!" Umi and Hanayo bowed their heads.

"Uh, and I'm sorry for having showed up here unannounced at this hour, and now having to request that I'm given a place to rest until tomorrow morning." Erena scratched at her cheek as she looked among the idols, who were completely stunned by her presence, frozen in place just as Umi and Hanayo had been. Each of their mouths hung so wide agape that Erena feared one of them might swallow a mosquito by accident.

"A...A...A..."

"Yes, it's one of the members of A-Rise, okay? Give it a rest!" Nico blasted at all of them with a vicious glower on her face.

"A fascinating development, nya!" cried Rin.

"You said it!" Honoka proclaimed.

Kotori, however, was more interested in hearing what her friend and Hanayo had been up to in the forest. "Umi...did you and Hanayo...?"

Everyone present, even Nico and Erena, instantly set their sights upon the other new couple. The poor girls cowered under all of the unwanted attention.

"It's none of your business...!" Umi squeaked. Hanayo gave the bluenette a reassuring pat. Kotori and Honoka chuckled.

As if waiting for this exact moment in time to announce itself, someone's stomach went off, growling loudly enough to stop all other conversation in the surounding vicinity.

Erena flashed a sheepish grin. "I haven't eaten since lunch. Do you mind if I use your kitchen for a moment?"

* * *

Erena placed ten plates at the dining table, each plate accompanied by the appropriate utensils. She wore an apron with a caricature of Maki's face (the redhead's mother had gotten it custom-made long ago) as she worked at preparing the meal. Cracking two eggs, she dumped their yellow, gooey contents into a searing hot frying pan, upon which they began to cook with a satisfactory sizzle. She placed a pot cover over the frying pan. She also had a pot of boiling water sitting on top of the oven, along with Hanayo's rice cooker counting down on the counter beside her. Inside of the pot was a mix of udon noodles and Italian angel hair pasta. She had found both in the pantry and decided that, even if they were different kind of noodles, there was no harm in eating both. The water started to bubble furiously, the surface turning white from the starch, and Erena clicked the temperature dial down a few notches, to keep it from overflowing. She used a wooden spoon to remove a noodle from the water and slipped it into her mouth; they weren't ready just yet, she concluded. Erena checked over the eggs again, removing the pot cover to add two tablespoons of tap water, but not directly onto the eggs. She was going to need to wait several more minutes, but once they were done, she would place them onto a plate and prepare the next couple of eggs. Next, she opened the spice cabinet, which, like everything else in the kitchen, she'd only recently discovered, and grabbed everything she deemed necessary. She glanced over the rice and the noodles once more, and turned to ask Maki if they had any meat they could use.

The nine members of Muse were staring from the kitchen doorway, mouths hanging even further than when she first came popping out of the forest less than an hour ago.

"...What are you doing?" Maki asked.

"I'm cooking dinner." Erena replied.

"But...why?"

Erena nodded. "I was starving, and I thought if there was anything I could do to repay you all for the trouble you've caused, it would be to cook you all dinner. I apolgize it's nothing specific, just a bit of everything I could find thrown together."

"I don't know if we have enough ingredients here to serve ten people right now," Maki shook her head, "We were planning on going into town tomorrow and buy some more groceries."

"It's alright; we're all idols, so we don't eat too much, do we?" Erena smiled innocently. Honoka and Hanayo tried not to look too ashamed with themselves, but it was pretty clear on their faces.

"Still, it's amazing, Erena, that you can cook so much all by yourself," Kotori noted, "You're just like a house-wife! Nico's so lucky!"

Nico blushed, despite not being the one the comment was addressed to.

"Ha ha! It's funny that you say that." Erena replied, flashing another grin, "In UTX, the other students like to joke around with us sometimes. I'm usually called the 'father' of A-Rise, because of my personality and my height. Anju is the 'mother' and Tsubasa, of course, is the 'baby' of the group! She really hates it when people mention that though, so it's normally done behind her back, but it's all in good fun. Also, I learned all of my cooking skills from my mother, she worked as a professional chef before I was born."

Honoka smirked; she was definitely going to have to remember that one, for the next time that she and Tsubasa hung out.

"I think we might have some meat in the freezer downstairs; I'll go and check." Maki said, turning and walking away.

"I'll...I'll take care of the rice...that is my rice cooker after all..." Hanayo sidled her way over to the machine and embraced it in an awkward half-hug. She was exhausted after all of the night's events, but she could stay up late for rice any time.

"I want to help too, nya!" Rin cheered.

Eri agreed, in the same boat as the more rambunctious members. "Yes, we can all help; Erena, we appreciate your offer, but cooking all of this food isn't something you have to do alone."

As the girls split themselves up into groups and got to work preparing and cooking whatever they could get their hands on, Umi took an open spot besides Hanayo, who was beginning to remove the finished rice from the cooker in clumps.

"Hanayo..." Umi whispered.

"What is it, Umi?" Hanayo asked, still focused on the rice, digging in deep with her spoon.

"About what happened in the forest..."

"Y-Yes?" Hanayo started blushing as she worked.

"Do you still want to be a couple?" the bluenette just had to know for sure, or else she wouldn't be able to sleep a wink tonight.

Hanayo turned to her. She leaned in and kissed Umi on the mouth, letting the kiss hold for about two seconds. Umi didn't want to die out of embarrassment this time; instead, she actually felt relieved, the touch of Hanayo's soft, supple lips soothing the woes of her fretful mind.

Hanayo pulled away and whispered into Umi's ear, "I do."

Umi smiled, thanked her, and the two of them quietly returned to their work.

"How did you and Nico end up together, Erena?" Eri decided to ask as she chopped up a radish.

Erena turned off the heat on the pasta and removed the top. "It happened coincidentally; we ran into each other at the bus-stop. It didn't take long for her to become my little imp. We were both lonely at the time, so we found some happiness in each other."

"Lonely?"

"Tsubasa and Anju are dating, and they were spending all of their time together."

"...Oh."

* * *

That night, the girls returned to their rooms as couples, each of them happy, full and quite sleepy. It was not until almost midnight that they finally decided to retire, and that was only because there were many plans for tomorrow they needed to wake up early for. Even though they certainly hadn't anticipated a tenth guest at the manor, Erena was more than welcome to stay with them during their Golden Week vacation, especially if it meant it would keep Nico happy. There was undoubtedly some curiosity among the girls to learn not only about how far she and Nico had gone, but also how well the purple-haired UTX student could cook if she had the proper ingredients and enough time too.

"Nico..." Erena whispered into Nico's ear, not long after they'd turned off the lights.

"What is it?" Nico wasn't asleep, and how could she possibly rest right now, being alone in a bedroom with her girlfriend for the very first time?

"There's something I wanted to show you."

Nico rolled over onto her side so she could look at Erena. "...What?"

Erena climbed out of bed. She stood up and began undoing her shirt. Nico's eyes widened.

"I...I bought it to show you..." Erena let her shirt drop onto the floor.

Nico stared.

"W-What do you think? Do you want to try it out right now, while they're all asleep?"

Nico got up and checked the bedroom door to make sure it was securely locked, and then she returned.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I apologize so much for this chapter being as late as it has been; I was very busy with offline work and commissions so it took a while to find the time to start the chapter and it is slightly rushed to get it to you faster. Sorry; the story will be over soon in another chapter or so too.

* * *

"Come on, you all! Hurry up! The...the spring that my dad told me about shouldn't be too far now!"

The other nine girls were a sweaty, breathless mess as they trailed far behind Maki, who was leading them deep into the forest surrounding the mansion, toward a destination that she claimed was a sparkling fresh-water spring. This had been a rather sudden plan suggested on Maki's part, and she'd roped everyone into doing it by reminding them that she was technically the host, and they were all her guests that she was so kind to let stay with her. It seemed that she had taken Nico's quip about wasting their whole Golden Week sitting around and playing video-games rather personally.

"Maki, I don't care about a spring! Isn't there that stream that was closer, nya?" Rin cried.

"It's totally different! You'll see!" Maki was panting hard; she briefly removed her cap to wipe the sweat accumulating on her brow.

"Maki, you seem rather fired up about this," Nozomi noted.

"Nozomi, you're in tune with your spirituality, aren't you? Wouldn't you agree that there's something spiritual about nature itself?"

"Hmm...I suppose...it's one of the rawest, most prevalent forms of life on the planet, and it's always all around us..."

"So this should be something for you to be reveling in right now!" snapped Maki.

"I might want to revel in it, true, but only if it didn't seem that my bra was already soaked through with my own sweat! Oh dear..." Nozomi grimaced, holding her shirt open as she waved air into it. Eri coughed, turning her head away to prevent the other girl from poking fun at the hot blush blossoming across her face.

"Are you okay, Kotori?" Honoka grabbed her girlfriend's shoulder; after that last hill, Kotori had been looking somewhat on the pale side, too much for the other girl's liking.

"I-I'm fine, Honoka, don't worry about me," Kotori chuckled weakly.

Unlike these fresh Otonokizaka girls, Erena Toudou was a third-year student from the prestigious UTX Academy, as well as one part of the A-Rise trio. She was on an entire different level compared to Muse, part in thanks to her secretive, and extensive, training regimen, so she was much more capable in handling the rigors and stresses of the long hike.

"Your friends are more ridiculous than I could have ever imagined," Erena chuckled with a shake of her head.

Nico groaned. "They're...a bunch of babies...! This is...this is...not so bad...!"

"Do you want me to carry you, my little imp?"

"N-No! Not in front of them...!"

Umi and Hanayo kept close, walking side by side under the blistering sun. They didn't exchange any words, but now and then they would purposely brush hands, gently taking hold and caressing each other's fingers for a few moments, growing increasingly hotter and hotter in the face with every time. Yet, despite how flushed they became and how overbearing the embarrassment lingered, they couldn't even bring themselves to stop. They didn't know that everyone was quite aware of what they were doing, it was obvious, but they didn't want to ruin the moment, so they kept mum on it.

Maki brushed away the branches in her path with the back of her arm. "We're almost there! It should be right around this corner-"

She stopped. They had found the spring indeed...but it was all dried up. Nothing left but the tracks of the water's flow and a deep indent. The water must have evaporated a long time ago, if it had ever been there for long at all. In fact, when the redhead searched through the memories of her youth, she couldn't recall ever seeing the spring herself with her own eyes. Maki dropped to her hands and knees, reeling from both despair and potential heat-stroke.

"Maki, um...does your dad have a habit of lying, nya?" Rin couldn't help but ask the question lingering most prevalently on her mind.

Maki looked up at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Eri and Nozomi quickly pulled Rin aside before she could even mention the word 'Santa Claus', and Hanayo and Kotori tried to comfort the poor first-year.

* * *

"So we're going to play video-games again?" Nico asked as she entered the living room to see Maki, Eri, Honoka, Kotori and Rin gathered around the television. She wiped her head dry with a towel; all of that hiking had left her hot and sticky, so a shower was just the thing she needed to set herself back in order. She took a seat in between Kotori and Rin.

Maki tightly gripped her controller in her hands as she bent over the console, turning it on. "Shut up." she snapped. "I-It's the last time, okay? We'll find something else to do...!"

"Yeah, yeah. I think we should use Golden Week to be getting more practice in for our next performance! I don't want my moves getting rusty."

Rin leaned back and closed her eyes. "Can we really practice when Erena is around, nya? She'll find out all of our training secrets and everything, nya!"

Nico frowned; the relief she'd felt at not having to hide her relationship anymore, it had almost made her forget that Erena was, by all accounts, one of their 'enemies' in the Love Live, even if they held no true ill will toward her or A-Rise.

"May I play with you this time?" requested Eri.

"Sure. I was going to put on a multi-player game anyway." Maki handed her a controller. Eri fiddled with hers like it couldn't even fit her hands, as if it were an alien artifact; she was clearly unaccustomed to playing video-games of any sort, but it didn't deter her, still intrigued as she was in finding out how they worked all the same. She pressed a couple of buttons and moved the control stick around, a disturbingly jovial grin stretching itself across her lips. There was a twinkle in her cerulean eyes.

"It isn't that gory game from before, is it?" Kotori asked, clutching her pillow and hopeful.

"Nah, this one is a racing game." Maki shook her head. The game's main menu theme started playing on the screen.

"Oh, good!" Kotori was relieved. The last thing she wanted to see was someone's spinal cord getting ripped out of their throat.

Meanwhile, Nozomi had taken it upon herself to care for the girls' laundry. It was part being a good samaritan, part being a pervert who was interested in finding out what sort of underwear her friends had brought on the trip. She'd already dealt with Eri's white panties first (she was used to handling them), Maki's expensive laced panties, Rin's childish panties with the cat pattern, and Hanayo's matching blue bra-panties set. The purplette reached into the dryer to remove another article of clothing, one she'd failed to notice until everything else had been removed.

At that exact moment, Erena entered the room. "Ah! N-Nozomi Tojou...! Please, wait a moment! I can take care of my own underwear, thank you!"

Nozomi removed the underwear that had been evading her for so long. In the artificial light of the laundry room, she was finally able to manage a good look at it. She started to laugh hysterically, and Erena started to die inside. It was clearly lingerie for a very special evening, but the cups for the bra were so small they would barely cover the nipples, and a slip of thin fabric was all that was supposed to help cover the lower privates.

"This...this is yours?" Nozomi asked in between her ferocious giggle fits. She looked like she was ready to collapse from the lack of air available in her lungs.

Erena had no choice but to nod, as it was the truth.

"Sexy dress." Nozomi remarked, speaking the words in English, so it came out as 'sekshi dressu'.

"It's more of underwear, really." Erena corrected her.

"Sexy underwear, then. Did you really wear this last night?" Nozomi sounded more anxious to hear the answer than she probably should have been, in Erena's personal opinion.

"That's..not something I can talk about..."

"Nicochi is quite the lucky girl," Nozomi shook her head.

"H-Hey!"

Nozomi tossed the outfit into the dryer. "Erena..."

"Yes?" Erena didn't like the way that the third-year said her name just now.

"Can you tell me exactly where you bought that lovely dress?" Nozomi winked, "I know a certain half-Russian blonde who might appreciate me wearing such lovely attire, even if she'd always be too bashful to admit it herself."

* * *

Umi and Hanayo held each other. They laid atop the bed in Umi's designated room, staring into each other's eyes, lips just hovering barely inches apart from each other. The temptation was so great, it took more than Umi ever thought she had to hold back long enough to have a proper conversation. She had never done anything like this before, so to be experiencing this magnitude of desire was a bit too intense. Hanayo looked so beautiful, it seemed like it would be a perfectly good waste not to kiss her till her lips hurt. Umi squeezed Hanayo's arm.

"Hanayo."

"U-Umi." Hanayo felt similarly. She was not an outgoing kind of girl; that trait was something best left up to her best friend Rin.

"Hanayo..."

"Umi?"

The bluenette flushed. "S-Sorry. I didn't mean to repeat myself like that."

"Hee...I didn't either."

Umi breathed. She started to eye Hanayo's lips; they looked so soft, so inviting. "Is it okay? If I kiss you, I mean?"

Hanayo smiled with her own eyes. "Of course you can."

Umi kissed Hanayo. Hanayo mewled into that awkward first kiss, knowing it would begin a chain of many more. Umi kissed her again and again. Hanayo held onto Umi with all of her might. Umi kissed her and embraced with the gentleness one would treat a baby animal. Still, there was a hint of repressed sexuality and lust lingering on the edge of it all, as Umi licked and nipped at Hanayo's lips in between the passionate kisses. Hanayo rubbed her thighs together, draping one leg over Umi's. Umi pushed even deeper with her smooches. The mattress contorted around Hanayo's head as she sunk further into it, the pressure of Umi's kisses weighing down on her like heavy, rapid raindrops.

It was surprisingly wonderful. Everything around her seemed to meld together and melt away, evaporating into nothingness, as all she could see, hear and think was the girl lying against her. A pleasure she'd never thought could exist for someone like herself. A teenager who had been so over-the-top terrified of engaging or even witnessing in the slightest hint of sexuality, and now here she was, kissing this young woman as if it was the last and only thing she could do in the whole world. It wasn't bad at all, she had to admit she liked it.

A lot.

Umi's hand started to move, almost on its own accord, down the length of Hanayo's waist and toward her exposed thigh. Hanayo flinched, and Umi immediately stopped. They wanted to try and take their relationship a little more slowly, for the sake of saving their innocent little hearts from the intense embarrassment they would most likely suffer in the next step.

* * *

"Damn...damn...damn!"

"Eri, it's just a game...!"

"I...I hold down the button as hard as I can...but I don't go any faster..."

"It's not your fault; maybe you just picked the wrong kart?"

"Maybe...maybe if I push the button even harder! Ha ha!"

"Eri, wait, hold on!"

"Eri, you're going to break the controller!"

"I'm going to beat you this time! All of you! I'll get first place! Horosho!"

"...I think we better just let her win this time..."

"Who knew Eri was so competitive, nya?"

"It's scary!"


	10. Chapter 10

Golden Week ended, and the ten idols were forced to return to their respective schools, as reluctant as some of them were to do so. When Erena had to leave the other girls behind, she bid Nico farewell with a loving kiss on the mouth in front of the others, eliciting a few excited squeals. She handed Nozomi a slip of paper as well; when Eri (and a particularly angry Nico) inquired about the paper later on, Nozomi openly admitted, grinning ear to ear, that it was the address to a very special shop in Akihabara. Erena said good-bye to each of them individually. Overall, the nine Muses had to admit, they were happy to have had Erena along. It seemed that Tsubasa wasn't the only member of A-Rise with interests of forming a friendly relationship. The other girls hoped they would get to see Erena again soon, hopefully at a cafe or an arcade instead of an opponent on the stage.

Erena hoped for the same. She knew that Tsubasa and Anju would want to visit them some time as friends as well.

* * *

Honoka and Kotori held hands as they approached the school gates one morning.

"Honoka, can I ask you something?" Kotori said. She seemed nervous, and Honoka could tell just from hearing the inflection in her voice.

"What's wrong, Kotori?"

Kotori squeezed Honoka's hand. "It's a little awkward."

"You can tell me! Totally! I'm all here for you, girl! I promise!"

"...Did you tell your family about us, Honoka? Do you talk to them about us dating at all?"

Honoka blanched; she had expected a numerous different questions, maybe some less likely than others, but she hadn't been prepared to suddenly have a question throw out regarding her family. She hadn't even mentioned them to Kotori at all recently.

"N-No, I haven't talked to them about us...I mean, Yukiho probably knows, since she's super-smart, and my parents don't ask too many questions about my personal life, so I guess not...why do you ask, Kotori?"

Kotori was holding Honoka's hand tight enough to nearly break it, but the other girl made no comment on it. "Well, I..." the silver-haired teen looked her girlfriend in the eye, "I wanted to introduce you to my mother."

"Eh? But I know your mom already?"

"Introduce you as my girlfriend." Kotori corrected.

"Ah." Honoka's eyes grew even wider. "Ah...!"

"Do you think that would be alright?" Kotori started talking faster and faster, "Honoka, are you okay with that? I haven't told her yet, but I thought maybe it was time? She knows we've been friends since childhood, but I never told her I was dating anyone, and I thought it was time to let her know. B-Better now than never, right?"

Honoka gaped. Kotori wanted to tell her mother, the principal of their very school, about their relationship. In fact, it seemed like she wanted to take Honoka all the way to her mother's office and have them introduce themselves as a couple face-to-face. Principal Minami had always been understanding, she was the one who'd given them the authority to make a school idol group in the first place, but there was something about her that terrified Honoka. Maybe it was because she possessed the power to suspend her or even expel her from Otonokizaka if she so desired. To inform such a dangerous and potentially vengeful woman that she was not only dating her daughter but had done some particularly lewd things with her in the privacy of their own bedrooms...it would be like dropping a nuclear bomb on your toe, and it subsequently going off.

Honoka looked at Kotori and gave a wry, slightly lopsided grin. "...That sounds like fun." It was impossible for her to ever consider saying 'no' to those glorious golden eyes, though. She seriously couldn't.

"Oh, yay!" Kotori embraced her lover and gave her a kiss for good measure. That act certainly helped sway Honoka a little more, but the terror was probably going to keep its residence in the pit of her stomach for as long as it could manage. Then she realized something.

"Say, Kotori, what made you decide to do this all of the sudden?"

"Eh?"

"I didn't think you were bothered about letting your mom know about us before?"

Kotori giggled. "I guess I was inspired to do during Golden Week. After seeing Umi and Hanayo finally get together, and Erena and Nico as a couple...it made me want to do something to help cement our love a little more, so we could make sure we know we'll be together for the long run!"

"I didn't know it was a race?"

"I couldn't help it! Umi and Hanayo were so cute together, it actually made me jealous!"

"Jealous? My Kotori? I didn't even know such a thing was possible!"

"Heh heh, oh, Honoka!" Kotori kissed her again.

Honoka really couldn't believe it, though. She knew that Umi and Hanayo were exceedingly adorable that they were finally a couple, but she hadn't expected it would actually have this kind of effect on Kotori. The center of Muse pondered if any of the other girls were influenced by the new pair as well.

* * *

Later that same day...

Maki's hardened stare bore down like a thousand needles onto the oblivious Rin, who in turn happily ate from her yogurt cup, blissfully, or moronically, unaware of the sheer impatience her girlfriend was currently radiating. Maki tapped her fingers against the wooden surface of her desk, over and over in a rhythmic timing, not speaking a single word, waiting for a reaction from Rin that never seemed to come. Maki pouted and puffed her cheeks. She leaned over her desk, took a book out from her bag, and started to read it. If Rin wasn't going to notice what was right in front of her, then she didn't need to wait and expect it anymore. Maki sighed quite heavily into the pages.

"Maki! Maki!" Rin was suddenly clamoring for the girl's attention, only after Maki had gotten halfway through her first page. The redhead glowered, annoyed that she'd finally noticed, and lowered her book.

"What is it, Rin?"

"You wanted some, right?" Rin giggled, holding out a spoonful of yogurt to, most likely, slip it into the redhead's mouth. Maki instantly became flustered, as she was wont to do.

"W-What are you t-talking about? I never said I wanted any of your yogurt!" Maki cried.

"You had that look on your face, nya!" Rin replied.

"I...I...If I had that look on my face, then why didn't you ask me earlier, huh?" snapped Maki.

"Sorry! It's super-cute and all when you're pouty, but I like taking care of you too, nya!"

"Taking care of...! Argh, you are so insufferable sometimes, Rin!" Maki cried. Rin couldn't help but laugh, as she usually did at her girlfriend's 'tsundere' antics. She never took it very seriously, because in the end Maki's anger was always short-lived.

"Do you not want some, nya?"

Maki grumbled. As if suddenly reluctant to accept the offer, she opened her mouth very slowly and let Rin feed her the yogurt.

"Is it tasty, nya?"

"...Yes..." Maki blushed.

"Hmm, I wonder if Kayochin has ever done anything like this with Umi yet?"

"What are you bringing up those two for all of the sudden?"

"I've bugged Kayochin a lot about it, but she never wants to tell me anything about her relationship with Umi, nya!"

"That's just it; because you're BUGGING her!"

"Oh, you know what I meant by that! Kayochin tells me everything! We've grown up together! But she won't tell me about her girlfriend! Ohh, what's up with that, nya? I really want to know, nya! It's so unfair, nya!"

Maki snickered to herself. "Aren't you making too big of a deal about it? Let Hanayo do what she wants. She doesn't need you to hold her hand all the time; she has Umi to do that now."

"Eh...I suppose you're right, nya..."

"Besides,"

"Huh?"

Maki reached out and wrapped a hand around Rin's, the one holding her yogurt cup. "You should just be more concerned about holding my hand from now on, okay, Rin?"

Like a wildfire, a hot, burning blush spread itself across Rin's pale cheeks. "Ah...M-Maki..."

Maki stood up from her seat to lean across the length of the table and plant a sweet, light kiss on her girlfriend's lips. Rin closed her eyes as she let herself sink into the kiss. It was a good thing that they were alone, having gone to the idol clubroom for lunch, because they knew no one else would be here at this time. The yogurt cup was quickly forgotten for that moment.

"Rin, you should know something else too,"

"What, nya?"

"I...I only kissed you because I thought it would help cheer you up...not because I really wanted to do it myself or anything..."

"Heh heh, you're such an honest girl, Maki, nya."

* * *

Eri, Nico and Nozomi were kept busy with their studies ever since Golden Week ended. They were going to have to prepare for their final exams sooner than later, even though the only one with any true fear of the likelihood of failing was Nico herself, who had been far too consumed with her love of all things idol to spend much time studying beforehand. Eri and Nozomi were determined to make sure she passed so they had offered to help her study, but only after Nico started performing degoza poses in their presence. To say that Nico wasn't entirely thrilled with the idea of a 'study-buddy system', as Eri jokingly liked to call it, would have been an understatement. Whenever Nozomi was on task, she would read the questions aloud and then threaten Nico with a groping session if she failed to answer correctly in time. Eri, meanwhile, acted similarly to a drill sergeant, seeming like she was always on the verge of physically drilling the answers into Nico's skull after receiving several wrong answers. They were a frightening duo, but Nico needed their help, so she put up with it.

She would have asked Erena for help, but she was from another school, and as such, had to study a completely different kind of curriculum. How unfair life could be.

"Nico, try it again. You can do this."

"I'm not stupid!" Nico was quick to snap. "I'm just...more street-wise, that's all! That's what it is! I don't need to know the names of presidents of foreign countries that I'm never even going to visit, or all of this mathematics that are so complicate that they'd never have to be applied to normal, everyday life! All of this studying is such a pain in the ass!"

Nozomi was lurking closely behind Nico, resembling something like a stalking predator hunched in striking position, which was essentially what she was. Her outstretched fingers twitched, holding back but clearly impatient for action. "Oh ho, so 'that's what it is', huh? If Nicochi was REALLY street-smart, she would know very well what will happen to her if she doesn't answer the question...!"

Nico's face paled. "It...it was George Washington...I think..."

"That's right!" Eri clapped. "You did it, Nico!"

"Great. Thanks for the patronizing compliments, Eri." Nico gave the blonde a sarcastic thumbs-up to boot.

"Heh heh, sorry about that, but you really did do well, Nico." Eri grinned sheepishly and honestly felt a little bad for Nico. She decided she would tell Nozomi to lay off the groping. Later though, once today's studying session was done. Although the threat of molestation was a surprisingly adequate means of enforcing intellectual growth, Eri had to admit that it was highly unethical, as well as she didn't enjoy the idea of her girlfriend intimately touching other women right in front of her. Eri was not very fond of sharing when it came to Nozomi.

"Hmph! Well, I did a whole sheet of these questions, so can't we stop this already? I deal with enough school during the day! I'm not like our Center when it comes to poor test scores, so I think I can handle the rest on my own." Nico told the pair.

"But Nico, didn't you say you were afraid of failing?"

"Yeah, you can't ask for our help and then tell us you don't need it. That's not very nice."

Nico shifted uncomfortably in her seat, unwilling to look the two other girls in the eye as she cautiously replied, "I'm sure I can figure out the rest on my own...m-maybe..."

"Nicochi, do you want me to tell you something that's a fact?"

"...What?"

Nozomi placed her hands upon Nico's shoulders and gently squeezed them ."If you do not pass these exams and graduate properly, you will be held back. Think about that, will you, my dear Nicochi? You will be the very first student in Otonokizaka's long history to have to be held back a grade."

"W-W-W-What?! That's ridiculous! Idiot! My grades are still way better than Honoka's!"

"Yes, we know, but that still doesn't mean anything. Honoka isn't the one on the verge of graduating, you are. You need to shape up so you can graduate with the best grades possible! If you were held back, you could still be a school idol with the others for one more year...but it would be at the sacrifice of your pride and dignity. Do you want that?"

Nico threw her hands up in the air. "Okay, okay, I get it! Leave me alone, you two! I get the point! No amount of my undeniable, irresistible super-idol charm, as much as it's like cupid's arrow shot into a lonely love-beggar's heart, isn't going to help me graduate from this place. But I wish you two would go a little easier on me! I'm your friend!"

Eri shook her head. "It's because you're our friend that we refuse to let up, because we want to see you succeed."

"Ugh..."

"We want to be able to attend college together, Nico!"

Nozomi immediately seemed to freeze up. Then, she walked around the table to draw herself closer to Eri. She wrapped her arms around Eri's neck and kissed her deeply on the mouth, right in front of Nico. When they finally split apart, Eri's face was searing hot and Nozomi was grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh, Erichi, you're sweeter than any parfait...!"

"W-W-What?" Nozomi cut Eri off by kissing her yet again.

Nico growled; how she wished she had Erena around just so she had the chance to show them up. Still, it would probably have been even more nauseating to watch Umi and Hanayo making out; those two were so inexperienced and shy, it would have been a train-wreck from the start. Nico might have even been compelled to jump in to offer her own kissing advice to help them. Eri and Nozomi continued to smooch. Nico returned to her studying on her own.

* * *

Erena leaned back on the couch and sipped from her tea cup, trying her damned hardest to ignore her two friends making lovey-dovey faces at each other on the other side of the coffee table. Honestly, it was rather difficult, especially when they started to speak. It made Erena want to sink down between the couch cushions and disappear forever, not even her own relations with Nico were this unapologetically embarrassing.

"Would you like a treat, my darling Tsu-Tsu?"

"Can you feed it to me, my sweet An?"

"Oh, it would be my pleasure~!"

Tsubasa closed her eyes and opened her mouth, going 'ahhh', as she waited for Anju to pick a chocolate wafer from the plate and gently place it into her mouth. Anju giggled as she performed the expected action, and Tsubasa happily chewed the wafer apart in her mouth. Anju pinched her cheek.

"You two are unbelievable," Erena remarked.

"Hee hee, sorry about that," Anju chuckled.

Tsubasa licked her lips. "Erena, aren't you interested in anyone? You deserve to have a significant other as much as anyone I know. I feel a little bad that we've been doing all of this in front of you for so long."

"I do have someone. A little imp in particular." Erena smirked. She hadn't exactly told her friends yet. She wondered how bad they claimed they really felt, considering they kept doing this all of the time.

"Wait, what?"

* * *

Umi approached the alpaca stables with little reservation; she knew Hanayo would be here, in fact she'd texted her earlier asking to meet at their 'usual spot'. She whipped her hand up to protect her face as she was suddenly struck with a gust of wind. Her blue hair fluttered in the breeze. She wanted to call out to her girlfriend, or even text her to see where she was, but she soon caught sight, thanks to her trained eye, of a smidgen of brown hair hiding behind the far-most stable. Umi hurried to confront her.

"Hanayo!"

Hanayo removed herself from the wall and turned, her cellphone in her hand. She waved it at the girl for a moment before shoving it away into her bag. "Ah! Umi! There you are!"

Umi ran up to the girl, before stopped just short of grabbing her in a hug. She stood there awkwardly on the balls of her feet for a moment. Hanayo smiled. Taking a deep breath and squeezing her eyes shut tight, Umi leaned in and kissed her on the lips. She didn't tremble.

"You're getting better, Umi!" Hanayo complimented her when the bluenette broke away.

"Heh heh...thanks...I'm trying, but it's hard."

"You can do it. You can't doubt yourself. Just thinking of it like it's your archery."

Umi smiled. "Come on. let's go inside."

"Okay!"

Umi and Hanayo, hand in hand, entered the stables from the back-door. The alpaca were preoccupied with their eating, and even though there were more than a few unpleasant smells radiating inside the stables, it really mattered very little to the pair, as all they could and would focus on was each other, nothing else. They cancelled out their surroundings with ease, just as Umi did whenever she truly focused on the arrow she was about to let fly. It wasn't Hanayo's assigned day for caring for the alpaca, and the school pets already had their hay moved around and their feeding trough filled. They ignored Umi and Hanayo as they sat down in a pile of fresh hay together. It crunched and crackled beneath their skirts.

"Why did you want to come here?" Hanayo asked.

Umi blushed. "Um...w-well...I'm not entirely sure...I guess it was just a need to see you..."

Hanayo grabbed Umi's arm. "You wanted to kiss me in private, right?" she asked.

"Uhhh..." Streaks of red graced Umi's ears and neck.

"I...I wanted to see you again too, but...Rin, maybe Maki, would probably get in the way, so...I'm kind of glad that you requested to meet in private..." Hanayo grinned sheepishly.

Umi returned a similar awkward grin, but she was soon leaning in to take Hanayo's lips in her own once more. The more times she did it, the more comfortable she grew, and the more she wanted it. Umi herself was shocked at how compelled she was to try and kiss Hanayo all the time, a far cry from her days being afraid of experiencing sexuality. Fortunately, the first-year wanted it just as much, if not more. Hanayo's fingers gently reached up and rubbed Umi's cheek as she moved herself into the kiss. One of the alpaca grunted, but it kept its back turned, almost as if it knew what was going on behind it. They kissed and kissed, soft and gentle, a feather's touch on her mouth. Umi was unwilling, or unable, to become more passionate in her make-out, even if she felt the passion nestled in her heart. Hanayo wasn't ready to experience that passion yet, but all the same, it was a mutual feeling between them that resonated with each and every sweet kiss. Umi felt a tongue run over the surface of her teeth; Hanayo liked to take an extra step now and then, but she never dared to go further.

"Hanayo, you really don't mind us...as a couple?" Umi was still a little embarrassed describing her and Hanayo's relationship as a 'couple' in spite of everything; she was gradually becoming accustomed, but it still felt rather foreign, the whole concept of love.

"Of course I don't. Umi, you helped me and cared about me in a way that not even Rin could." Hanayo assured her. "I don't know what it is you see in me, when I'm probably the most plain and average of the girls in Muse, or even this whole school..."

Umi sighed. "Maybe we both put ourselves down too much...?"

"Heh. Maybe."

"But, you really don't mind me being the 'extrovert' compared to Honoka or Kotori? Don't you remember when I nearly threw a fit watching a couple kiss in a movie?"

"I don't think you're as extroverted or socially awkward as you may think, Umi. You know how to kiss too. You do well."

"Th-Thanks..."

"You're far cuter than you may think too, Umi!"

"Ah! C-Come on now! Please...don't say that..."

Hanayo stroked Umi's cheek. Umi stared back at her girlfriend for a few moments, looking longingly into those violet eyes. 'Beautiful,' she thought.

Their next attempt to kiss was unfortunately cut short, as a familiar voice let out a cry.

"Umi! Hanayo! Is that you in there?"

Umi immediately snapped up to a standing position, and Hanayo pushed herself back onto her feet as well. Honoka was leaning over the rail next to the white alpaca, which Kotori was currently cuddling by rubbing her face into its fluff.

"Honoka? Kotori?" Umi had honestly thought they could hide out here and be alone; no one came down to the stables after the care session was done.

"I thought you might be here, but Kotori told me that it wasn't likely." Honoka flashed a grin. Kotori was too busy indulging in cuteness to provide her own comment.

Umi shook her head. "Did...did you see anything?"

"Nothing that we didn't already know." Honoka teased.

"Argh!"

Hanayo pat Umi's shoulder. "They do know we're a couple now, Umi. We weren't very good at excusing ourselves in the forest."

"Argh..." Umi buried her face in her hands.

"You two are a pretty cute couple. Almost kind of perfect for each other, you're both so shy, you can help each other out!"

Even Hanayo started to get flustered from that remark. Umi began trembling. She almost wished she had a bow and some arrows available right now.

"Honoka..."

"Kotori wanted to see the alpaca before heading home, but I told her that you two might be here! I really did! I was standing up for your love!"

"Honoka!" Umi started to march toward the orange-haired girl, her eyes briefly hidden behind the shadow of blue hair, and Honoka immediately backed off.

"Kotori, let's get out of here and leave these two alone!"

"Aw, but Honoka, the alpaca-"

"We can come back and see them tomorrow morning!"

"Huh?" Kotori looked over and saw Umi storming after them. "Oh, okay! Honoka, wait for me! Have a good night, Umi! See you tomorrow! Good-bye to you too, Hanayo!"

"Yeah, bye, Hanayo!" Honoka waved.

Hanayo dimly waved back as the two second-years ran for their lives, Umi stopping at the railing that stood between her and them. She ground her teeth for a little, but eventually, her senses returned to her.

"Umi?" Hanayo approached her girlfriend with a modicum of caution. Umi turned to face her, looking quite bashful now.

"...I'm sorry about that. I just can't stand that girl sometimes."

"Heh, but it's thanks to her that we even got the chance to become friends!" Hanayo pointed out.

Umi blinked. "That is right, isn't it?"

Hanayo kissed Umi long and hard, and the bluenette nearly let her knees give way.

"Let's return to where we were...i-if you want, Umi..."

Umi hugged the first-year. "I do."

Hanayo and Umi didn't know if they really were perfect for each other, but right now, in each other's arms, it was more than good enough for them.

* * *

Honoka and Kotori held hands as they walked away from the school.

"Honoka, that wasn't very nice, teasing Umi like that. You know how she has her anger issues."

"I know, but!" Honoka leaned and kissed her girlfriend on the cheek. "After your mom proved so accepting of our relationship, I couldn't help but feel a little happy! Oh, we probably should have told Umi about that, shouldn't we?"

Kotori giggled. She kissed Honoka back, but this time on the lips. "We can tell her tomorrow. Oh, you're so adorable, Honoka!"

"Heh heh heh...!"

"Not as adorable as an alpaca, but still!"

"H-Hey!"


End file.
